


Take a Shot in the Dark

by Dawn on ICE (Dawn_Blossom)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Actor Victor Nikiforov, Billionaire Victor Nikiforov, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Former Skater Christophe Giacommetti, Former Skater Victor Nikiforov, Halloween Otome AU, Happy Ending, M/M, Model Christophe Giacometti, Romantic Comedy, about as much angst as in canon, hidden identities, technically this is canon divergence - Victor became an actor in America after winning Junior Worlds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 19:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 52,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12372873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawn_Blossom/pseuds/Dawn%20on%20ICE
Summary: When Yuuri wins a ticket to Viktor Nikiforov's Annual Halloween Extravaganza, of course he can't miss the chance to go. With all the guests being required to hide their identities, nobody will even know it's him.Falling in love with another costumed stranger was never part of the plan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I AM SO HAPPY I MANAGED TO FINISH THIS BEFORE HALLOWEEN
> 
> Okay, so first of all, this fic is based on a game called [Halloween Otome](http://synokoria.tumblr.com/Halloween_Otome), and let me just say that it's one of my favorite games. Like, not only did I play it multiple times to get all the endings, but I also just replay this game for fun a lot... particularly in October, when I'm in a Halloween-y mood! It's a free game, so check it out if you're interested! Also, be warned if you read the fic first, it spoils... pretty much everything about one of the routes. So if you want to be surprised by the game, play it first! Otherwise, read on~
> 
> Oh, by the way, I spell "Viktor" with a K in this fic, which is very unusual for me! But the reason is that he's taking on Erik's role in the game, and... Er **ik** , V **ik** tor... It's just an homage to the original character, haha. (Okay, but honestly? Erik and Viktor are so similar that it's kind of ridiculous. Anyone wanna write me a crossover where they meet?)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the story!

“And the winner is Yuuri Katsuki! You’ve just won an invitation to the most exclusive and sought-out Halloween event of the year! That’s right, we’re talking about Viktor Nikiforov’s annual two week long Halloween extravaganza!”

There has to be some mistake. Yuuri had only entered the contest because Phichit had practically demanded that he do so. He never thought he would _win._

“Yuuri, you _have_ to go!” Phichit insists. “You’ve been in love with Viktor Nikiforov since before he was even discovered in America! Can you honestly say you don’t want to meet him?”

No, Yuuri cannot honestly say that at all.

Viktor Nikiforov is one of the world’s most famous actors. Originally from Russia, he played a minor role in an American movie when he was 17, and the American film industry went wild, seemingly overnight. He’s a household name these days, but Yuuri had admired him long before he had become an actor. Viktor had once skated competitively in the Junior division, and Yuuri, already interested in the sport, had fallen for his skills with a single glance. It’s hardly a stretch to say that Viktor is the _reason_ Yuuri started skating competitively.

Unfortunately, his skating career hasn’t been going that great lately. After a disastrous sixth place finish at last season’s Grand Prix Final, followed by an even worse performance at Nationals that resulted in him not even qualifying for Worlds, Yuuri knows that many people are speculating about his retirement.

But Yuuri isn’t ready to give up the only dream he’s ever had. That’s why, even though he couldn’t bring himself to skate this season, he hasn’t announced his retirement, either. Celestino had said it was okay, that he could take off a season and come back, that it didn’t have to be the end of the road for him, but… Nevertheless, the anxiety eats at him. Can he really come back? Will he have the strength to do it? Maybe it would have been better to retire after all?

Yuuri had thought about going back to his family in Hasetsu, but one fear had stopped him. If he surrounded himself with his family and childhood friends, would he ever be able to leave them again? Or would he fade into the background noise of his hometown and let the rest of the world forget him? He doesn’t know the answer, which is enough to make him wary. And that’s why he had decided, instead, to stay in Detroit with Phichit.

So, with Yuuri being in America but not competing this season, he really has no excuse to justify him refusing to go to the Nikiforov Halloween Extravaganza.

“But what if I go and embarrass myself?” Yuuri asks Phichit. “I don’t hang around these kinds of circles! There’s going to be all these celebrities, and I’m just…”

“The top figure skater in Japan?” Phichit suggests. But before Yuuri can protest that it doesn’t count, Phichit continues. “Besides, it’s supposed to be anonymous, anyway. Everyone has to wear a costume that hides their identity, right?”

“Viktor wants his guests to have a good time instead of worrying about networking,” Yuuri says automatically, immediately recalling the interview from earlier in the month in which Viktor announced his intention to do something _special_ this year. Yuuri’s heart had clenched when he saw it, because how can any one man be so wonderful? Viktor has always been exceedingly kind to his fans and fellow stars alike (it’s one of the many things Yuuri admires about him). He always goes all-out to excite his audience, whether that be filmgoers at the theater or guests at his party. Yuuri is confident that this year’s party will be amazing,

“Soooo,” Phichit drawls, “nobody will even know it’s you. It’ll be like your own Cinderella story!”

Yuuri cracks a small smile at the joke (even though Phichit’s got it all wrong), and for the moment, he thinks that maybe things really will work out okay. What’s the worst that can happen? It’s not like he’s going to end up spending any time with Viktor, anyway; he’ll surely be busy with his duties as host. But maybe, just maybe, Yuuri will be able to catch a glimpse of him in person. That alone would make Yuuri’s decision to sit this season out more than worth it.

In the end, they come up with a pretty basic costume modelled after the costume Viktor had won the Junior Grand Prix Final with. It’s a little embarrassing, but then, Yuuri _has_ always wanted to wear something like it, and as Phichit points out, this might be his only chance to get away with wearing it _anonymously,_ and besides, Viktor probably doesn’t remember it anyway. It’s not like Yuuri can remember what he himself wore back in Juniors (though perhaps that’s because he tries his best to forget everything about his dark skating past).

“It looks great on you, Yuuri!” Phichit insists appreciatively. “You pull it off better than Viktor did, even.”

“Nobody pulls anything off better than Viktor,” Yuuri retorts. But even he can’t deny that the costume flatters him. With the addition of the black mask covering his face, he doesn’t look anything like Yuuri Katsuki, local figure skating flop. He doesn’t look like the nervous wreck he usually is, either. In this costume, in this mask, nobody will be able to tell that Yuuri isn’t anyone special, that he doesn’t belong among celebrities.

Nevertheless, when he arrives at Viktor Nikiforov’s mansion, Yuuri can’t help but feel out of place. It’s not like his costume was cheap, but compared to all the other guests, he feels…

Well, he feels as he often does: weak, insignificant, wrong.

It’s not like he can talk to anyone like this. Even if he weren’t feeling so out of place, he wouldn’t know what to talk to any of these people about. The only thing he knows is skating, while the other guests live the glamorous lives of the rich and famous. They have nothing in common, surely.

Yuuri awkwardly hugs the wall for several minutes before the lights suddenly go out.

He can hear other people shuffle about nervously, but Yuuri, luckily, has his secure wall to brace himself against. Nobody bumps into him, and the lights turn back on. The incident passes, but then, oh…

Viktor Nikiforov is standing in front of the room, at the very top of the staircase. And he’s beautiful. 

Yuuri recognizes his costume as the Phantom of the Opera. Viktor’s dark cape hangs regally from his shoulders, and half of his face is covered by a white mask. 

For a second, Yuuri imagines that he sees Viktor’s eyes flicker to him (but that’s ridiculous, of course; Viktor is too far away to observe clearly, anyway), and his lips quirk upwards before he opens his mouth to address the crowd.

“Bonsoir,” he says in a French accent, though he quickly switches to his usual well-practiced American accent as he continues. “And welcome to this year’s _spooktacular_ event.”

Yuuri has to bite his lip to hide a smile. Other people in the crowd groan at the pun, but Viktor just waves his hand dismissively.

“I know many of you have attended this event before, but for the sake of our wonderful newcomers—” Here, Yuuri could swear that Viktor’s eyes flicker back towards him, but again, that is surely ridiculous, and Yuuri wishes he would stop assuming such self-centered things. “—I’ll explain the rules,” Viktor finishes, grinning.

Yuuri feels stirrings of nervousness bubble up inside him. Why would they need rules? Just what did Yuuri sign himself up for?

“As always, we’ll be playing a little game to keep the next two weeks exciting,” Viktor says. “Some of you might remember last year’s murder mystery?”

A few members of the audience cheer. Viktor flashes them a charming smile.

“This year we’re spicing it up a bit,” Viktor continues. “You’ll all be split into groups of four and given tasks to complete. You’ll be given points based on how you do, and the team with the most points at the end wins!”

The crowd remains silent.

The smile on Viktor’s face dims, but he still lets out a laugh.

“No enthusiasm?” he teases.

“What do we win?” someone yells from the crowd.

“The honor of being this year’s champions, of course!” Viktor answers cheerfully.

The crowd groans, and Yuuri overhears several angry mutters.

Yuuri feels a sudden flash of irritation. Aren’t the guests being a little ungrateful? This is Viktor’s party, and he doesn’t owe them anything. They should be happy to have been invited at all!

“I’m kidding!” Viktor insists, holding his hands up. “We do have amazing prizes, but they’re a surprise!”

The crowd’s mutterings turn hopeful.

“We’ve redecorated the mansion to make it fit the Halloween theme and cater to the tasks. There are also secret passages, but please leave those to the servants! If you go down them, it could be a week before we find you! And speaking of things you shouldn’t do, it’s absolutely mandatory that you don’t reveal your identity until after Halloween. It’s so thrilling to interact with people who don’t know who you are!”

“Thrilling” is not the word Yuuri would use. “Relieving” is much more accurate. But at any rate, he’s grateful that he won’t be expected to take off his mask any time soon.

“I think that’s it—” Viktor starts.

“Hey, how are we being put into groups? Do we decide?” someone demands.

Viktor chuckles.

“Oops, I forgot to mention that! The groups have already been randomly selected. When you return to your rooms tonight, you’ll find a dossier with all the details you need,” he explains. “Any other questions?”

The guests whisper among themselves, but nobody else speaks up.

“Great! That wraps up the formalities, so mingle~” Viktor says cheerfully. The lights cut out on his very last word, and when they turn on again, Viktor is gone.

“Ugh, what a drama queen,” somebody mutters.

Yuuri clenches his fists. What’s wrong with Viktor being dramatic? And if you don’t like it, why would you come to Viktor’s party in the first place?

But ultimately, he has no choice but to let the comment go. The most he can do is desperately hope that he doesn’t get put on the same team as the jerk.

Yuuri stumbles a little farther down the wall, eventually settling into a nice, uncrowded corner where he can watch everyone else chatter. He figures that nobody will bother him here.

He figures wrong.

“Well, hello there,” purrs a deep, silky voice in a thick Russian accent. Yuuri’s eyes snap up only to meet deep red irises. It’s clear that the man in front of him is dressed as a vampire. His long hair is tied back in a ponytail, and oh, that silver color is so bright that it reminds Yuuri of…

“The Count from _Midnight Whirlpool,_ Yuuri blurts out. _Midnight Whirlpool_ is one of Viktor’s earlier movies, back from when he was only 18, where he starred as a vampire who falls in love with a merman. Yuuri loves that movie (yes, _okay,_ he loves all of Viktor’s movies, but this one is particularly excellent). “Wow, that’s… You look just like him...”

The Count narrows his eyes for a second before letting out an awkward chuckle.

“Yes, I’ve spent a lot of time perfecting the image,” he says. His lips quirk upwards. “But it seems I’m not the only one who took inspiration from Viktor’s past. Viktor the figure skating champion, not a character you see every day.”

Yuuri sorely wishes that he had chosen a mask that concealed his entire face; maybe then the Count wouldn’t be able to see his cheeks flushing redder than a beet.

“You, uh, you recognize it,” he mutters.

“Indeed. I’m his biggest fan,” the Count says. Leaning forward, he smirks. “Unless you’d like to fight me for that title?”

“O-Oh,” Yuuri mumbles. He probably could. He’s been keeping up with Viktor news for longer than most. But it’s not like he knows _everything._ This guy has obviously studied Viktor enough to emulate him almost perfectly (the only difference is his voice, but then, not everyone can change their accent at the drop of a hat like Viktor can; Yuuri’s not going to fault him for something like that. Visually, he looks just like Yuuri imagines Viktor would if he’d decided to keep his hair long instead of cutting it short seven years ago). “No, no, I believe you.”

The Count seems a little disappointed, but he pulls back.

“That’s fine. I didn’t come over here to talk about me, anyway,” he continues, straightening back up. “I’m much more interested in _you._ What’s a magnificent beauty like yourself doing all alone?”

“Eh?” Yuuri blurts dumbly.

“Do you not want to socialize? Are you feeling unwell?” the Count asks in concern. “You ought to be the life of the party, not stuck in a lonely corner by yourself.”

“Oh, uh, no,” Yuuri mutters. “I’m not really the partying type. Or, uh, the talking type, either. I’m in this corner by choice.”

“Is that so?” the Count murmurs. He regards Yuuri with such an intense look that Yuuri has to suppress a shudder. “Should I leave you be?”

“No!” Yuuri says a bit too quickly. “I mean, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. It’s a public space and everything, and I, uh, don’t really mind you being here.”

He doesn’t know why, but there’s something about this man that draws Yuuri to him. It’s completely stupid, because Yuuri has absolutely no idea what he’s supposed to even talk about with him, but he doesn’t really want the Count to walk away just yet. 

The Count glances at his pocketwatch with a grimace.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice,” he says, sighing. “But if I did, I would gladly pass the rest of the evening by your side.”

Yuuri tries to quash the disappointment welling up inside him.

“Oh, that’s fine. You’re busy,” he says. “I won’t keep you, then.”

“I’m very sorry,” the Count says, and he really does sound sad. “But I hope we’ll be able to spend more time together over the next two weeks.”

“Right,” Yuuri murmurs. He’s staring too much at the Count, he’s sure, but he just can’t bring himself to look away. “I’d… I’d like that.”

The Count smiles softly at him, a look much too gentle for his monstrous costume, before he disappears into the crowd.

Yuuri’s heart pounds in his chest, and he places a hand over it to steady himself.

A few moments later sees another man approaching him. This one is dressed as a mummy, only… he seems to have gone for a _sexy_ mummy. Bandages wrap around his face enough to conceal his identity, but blond hair still peeks through. The bandages continue down his body, but they only cover just enough to remain decent. Most of his chest and stomach is uncovered, revealing finely toned muscles. Yuuri figures he’s probably some kind of model or something.

“Hello there,” the mummy says with an accent Yuuri can’t quite place. “I couldn’t help but notice you catching the attention of a certain vampire,” he says, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Ah, uh, yes,” Yuuri says. “Were you looking for him? He had to go off in a rush, and, uh, I don’t exactly know where he went, but if you’re trying to find him—”

“Oh, no,” the mummy says with a chuckle. “I’ll see him later. I’m interested in seeing _you_ right now.”

Yuuri lets out a surprised squeak as the mummy brushes a little too close to his backside.

“Adorable,” the mummy says appreciatively. 

“I-I’m sorry?” Yuuri asks in utter confusion.

“No wonder my vampire friend wants to suck you dry.” The mummy winks suggestively.

“I didn’t realize that this was that kind of party,” Yuuri says, his eyes widening. Oh, sure, he’s been to sexy Halloween parties before (in a truly regrettable decision based on a drunken dare, he and Phichit had once gone as “sexy figure skaters” in outfits that _definitely_ weren’t ISU-approved, but Yuuri tries to block that particular embarrassing memory from his mind), but he wasn’t prepared for a masquerade party to be like this!

“It’s always that kind of party when I’m around,” the mummy says with a smirk. “Though it’s unusual for my friend to feel… thirsty.”

Yuuri averts his eyes, a blush rising to his cheeks.

“He was only over here for a few minutes before he left, anyway,” Yuuri says. Certainly not enough time for anything to happen. “I think he was trying to be nice, since I was alone and all.”

The mummy is quiet for a few seconds before he shakes his head.

“I don’t pretend to understand what’s going through my friend’s head,” he says, “but I can say for certain he would not have approached you if you didn’t interest him.”

Yuuri doesn’t know how he could have possibly interested the Count, but he supposes he has to take the mummy’s word for it.

“Now, I’m afraid I really _should_ run after my dearest vampire. He gets so gloomy when he’s all alone,” the mummy continues. “But it was delightful to meet you. Tell me, what do I call you?”

Just when Yuuri’s face has finally cooled down, he’s back to blushing again. None of the guests had been allowed to pick their own aliases; instead, they had been assigned a name to use over the course of the event. Yuuri’s assigned name was questionable enough, but given the way this particular conversation had gone, it suddenly feels even more embarrassing.

“Eros,” he mutters.

“The god of love. How fitting,” the mummy says with a laugh. “I look forward to seeing you again, _Eros._ ”

Yuuri breathes a sigh of relief as the mummy leaves. He was nice enough, and Yuuri wouldn’t mind talking to him again,, but he’s not used to having to speak to people without having the topic of skating to fall back on as a crutch.

In the back of his mind, he wonders how much the Count knows about skating. He apparently recognizes Viktor’s Junior Worlds-winning costume, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he knows anything about the sport itself. Of course, even if he knows a lot about skating, Yuuri can’t just talk about the sport, since it might accidentally lead to his identity being revealed, which is the last thing he wants. Yuuri just wonders; that’s all.

As the party starts to wind down, Yuuri begins to make his way back to his room at long last. Before he can get there, though, he runs quite literally into someone as he rounds the corner.

“Can you watch where the fuck you’re going?” a wolf-suited boy asks irritably from the ground. There’s something familiar about his Russian-accented tone that tugs at Yuuri’s memory.

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri says quickly. “I wasn’t paying that much attention. I should have been more careful.”

“Obviously, moron,” the wolf grumbles, picking himself up and totally rejecting Yuuri’s offered hand.

It’s the word “moron” that does it, and Yuuri gasps as he suddenly remembers who the voice belongs to.

Yuri Plisetsky, last year’s Junior Grand Prix gold medalist, unfortunately sitting out this season’s Grand Prix series due to an injury he sustained while practicing quads (oh, now Yuuri feels even worse about knocking him to the ground). In particular, Yuuri remembers him because the teenager had yelled at him in the bathroom after his disastrous Sochi performance. 

Now that he thinks about it, he’s pretty sure Viktor Nikiforov sponsors Yuri. That’s probably why he got an invitation. Normally, of course, he wouldn’t be able to take two weeks in October to come fool around in America, but since he’s not making his senior debut this season anymore, the timing isn’t a problem.

Yuuri thinks it’s very nice of Viktor to have invited him. Yuuri’s never suffered any injury serious enough to force him to miss any competitions, but he _has_ suffered minor ones that have kept him off the ice for short periods of time, and even that felt like torture. It’s good for Yuri to have something to distract him.

“Hello? Earth to… whatever the hell you are,” Yuri snaps. “No, seriously, what are you wearing? Is that some kind of half-dress, half-suit thing? Could you not decide what to wear?”

Yuri obviously doesn’t recognize him, and Yuuri would really prefer to keep it that way.

“I’m Eros, the god of love,” Yuuri says, trying to keep his nervousness out of his voice.

Yuri glares at him, clearly unimpressed.

“Okay, gross,” he says with a snort. “I hate all of you here. Your costumes are all stupid. My costume is stupid, too, and not what I fucking ordered. Get out of my way and go have your midnight rendezvous or whatever. I’m trying to get the fuck to bed.”

“I-I’m not having… It’s not even midnight… I’m trying to go to bed, too!” Yuuri splutters, but he moves to the side of the hallway to let Yuri pass.

“I literally do not give a single damn,” Yuri mutters as he goes by.

When Yuuri finally reaches his room, the first thing he does is slump onto the bed with a sigh. So it looks like Yuri hates him _and_ his hidden identity. A hidden identity that it’s now more important than ever to keep.

Great.

Yuuri can’t even contact Phichit for moral support, because all the guests had to hand over their phones to the servants before they left. “So nobody can cheat,” apparently. As if Yuuri knows anyone who could possibly help him cheat.

As he continues to wallow on the bed, his hand brushes against paper, and Yuuri grabs what turns out to be a file.

Oh, right. His teammates. Yuuri had almost forgotten.

The first page he pulls out has a picture of the mummy on it. “Mr. Bandages,” it says his name is. His occupation is listed as “model” (so Yuuri was right) and his skills include “flirtation,” “speed changing,” “lip reading,” and “chemistry.” Interesting.

Wait, wait, occupation and skills? Oh no, what does _Yuuri’s_ page say? He flips to the page with his picture, but breathes a sigh of relief when all it says for both is “unknown.” He does feel a little bad that his teammates get only his picture and the name “Eros,” but, well, the alternative is too horrifying to think of. Yuuri doesn’t want anyone to know he’s a nobody, after all.

As his heartbeat begins to return to its normal pace, Yuuri pulls out the next page. He can’t help but smile when he sees that it’s the Count he met earlier. Apparently, he’s an actor (Yuuri wonders if he’s ever been asked to do impersonations for a movie. There’s probably a thousand directors who would give their entire life savings to get someone who so closely resembles Viktor Nikiforov.). His skills are “ice skating” (interesting, so he _does_ know something about skating), “negotiating,” “speed changing” (is that why he knows Mr. Bandages?), and “dog whispering.”

There’s a pang in his chest as he reads the Count’s last skill. If only Yuuri had been a dog whisperer, had been able to talk to Vicchan and figure out that something was wrong before it was too late…

He shuts his eyes for a moment. Vicchan’s death still hurts him, but he can’t afford to think about that now. Yuuri’s already ruined one performance because of his weak mind; he doesn’t want to let his teammates here down, too.

With a sigh, he pulls out the final paper, only to immediately groan. It’s Yuri, or, rather, “Mr. Wolf.” Occupation: figure skater (yeah, it’s definitely Yuri). His skills are “ballet,” “intimidation,” “cooking,” and “cat whispering.”

Yuuri snickers. A cat whisperer and a dog whisperer, huh? He wonders how well they’re going to get along.

In all honesty, Yuuri’s a little afraid that their team might be doomed from the start, what with him around. Mr. Bandages and the Count probably already make a good team, and Yuuri thinks he could get along with them alright. But Yuri, who already hates Yuuri’s guts, and who Yuuri has to try extra hard to avoid revealing his identity to? He’s not going to be easy to deal with.

Well, Yuuri will just have to try his best. This is supposed to be a party. It’s supposed to be fun. Even he can’t screw it up too badly, can he? There’s nothing at stake (except for mysterious “amazing prizes” that Viktor referred to, which, okay, probably _are_ great if Viktor planned them), and even though the thought of competition is making Yuuri’s insistent desperation to win rear its ugly head, the most important thing is to have fun. Probably.

At any rate, he’s going to need his rest for tomorrow. His racing thoughts make it difficult for him to fall asleep, but in the end, there’s a smile on his face as he drifts off.

He’s excited for the weeks ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuuri barely has enough time to put on his costume in the morning before he’s nearly startled out of his skin by the abrupt sound of a tone ringing out throughout the room.

“Good morning to all of my wonderful guests~” Viktor’s cheerful voice comes out through the speakers. “I hope you all slept well, because you’re going to need your energy! The first task is about to begin!”

Yuuri doesn’t want to groan at anything Viktor says, but… he’s tempted to groan. He hasn’t even had breakfast yet; he isn’t ready for this!

“Each team has been assigned a meeting room, and everyone should be receiving a page with directions and the task objective right… hmm… now!”

Instantly, a sheet of paper comes sliding under the door into the room. Yuuri’s impressed that Viktor and his staff have timed everything so well.

“Good luck!” Viktor says. Another tone signals the end of the announcement, and then Yuuri is left in silence.

Yuuri follows the directions to his group’s meeting room, which turns out to be a classroom-like setting. Several tables stretch in rows across the entirety of the room, and there are shelves filled with books and magazines around all the walls.

Unfortunately, someone is already there when he arrives, and that someone is Yuri.

“I cannot believe that I am stuck with you on my team,” Yuri says in lieu of a greeting.

Yuuri sighs.

“Uh, Mr. Wolf, I’m afraid we got off on the wrong foot yesterday,” Yuuri says. Yuri glares especially fiercely, and, too late, Yuuri remembers Yuri’s injury. The injury that he technically has no reason to know about, because he’s not supposed to know who Yuri is. But even though he shouldn’t know about it, he _does,_ and Yuuri can’t help but feel like he ought to be more careful to not remind the teen of his troubles.

“I only meant that I hope we can maintain a good relationship as teammates,” Yuuri continues. “We should try to work together without letting what happened yesterday get between us.”

“Well, duh. I’m not going to lose just because I’m grouped up with a moron,” Yuri says. “But you’re completely useless and—”

“Eros, how wonderful to see you again!” Mr. Bandages says as he bursts into the room. Yuri looks furious at being cut off, and frankly, Yuuri is too tired to deal with any of this.

“Shut your mouth and wait your turn, asshole!” Yuri shouts at Mr. Bandages. “Did you even look at this before you came here? You wouldn’t be greeting him all buddy-buddy-like if you had!”

“What’s that, his skill sheet?” Mr. Bandages asks, narrowing his eyes. “I can’t see that without my glasses.

(Yuuri can relate to that. His glasses didn’t really work with his costume, so he’d gone without them. He’s used to not wearing them when he’s skating, but that’s only ever for a short period of time. Going without them for most of the day for two weeks is going to be awful, and Yuuri already hates himself a little. At least he can still wear them when he’s alone in his room.)

“Yes, it’s his skill sheet, if you can call it that!” Yuri growls. “There are no skills on it! What the hell does that even mean? Ugh, it’s just like Viktor to put me on a team with a bunch of useless idiots!”

Before Yuuri can defend himself (or Viktor, for that matter), they’re interrupted by the Count’s arrival.

“Calm down, everyone. Nobody here is a useless idiot,” he says placatingly.

“Who the hell are you?” Yuri demands.

The Count’s eyes turn gleeful, and he shoots a grin towards Mr. Bandages.

“Didn’t you read the file? Or did you stop after getting to dear Eros?” Yuuri is startled to feel the Count’s fingers brush against his shoulder, but they’re gone again before he has a chance to react. “I’m the Count, of course.”

“Screw you; I meant— Ugh, forget it,” Yuri says, crossing his arms in frustration.”Let’s just focus on the task. I refuse to lose over this.”

Apparently satisfied that the conversation with Yuri is over, the Count then turns to Yuuri.

“Eros,” he says happily. His eyes appear to shine, though maybe that’s just because of the contacts. “It’s delightful to see you again.”

Yuuri smiles.

“Yes, I’m glad we’re on the same team. What are the odds?”

The Count chuckles.

“Odds… yes. We’re very fortunate, aren’t we?” he says. “It must be fate! Though I’m sorry you have to put up with that grumpy wolf over there.”

Yuuri’s about to open his mouth to speak again, but at that moment, a waiter brings in a breakfast cart, and all of Yuuri’s thoughts dissolve into one impulse: eat.

“Oh! Perfect! I was starting to get hungry,” the Count says. “Come, let’s all eat. Eros, what do you like?”

He ushers Yuuri to his seat. Yuri glares at both of them as he sits down, while Mr. Bandages seems content to eat in silence.

The food is delicious. Yuuri thinks he probably shouldn’t be eating so much, not when he hasn’t been training like usual, but, well, it’s so good, and the Count seems insistent that he try every single thing, and so before he knows it, Yuuri is too stuffed to eat another bite.

“Okay, now that we’ve fed you pigs, can we talk about the game already?” Yuri says with annoyance. “The first task seems easy, but I still don’t trust any of you not to screw it up.”

“We have to find and open a door, right?” Mr. Bandages speaks up.

“Yeah, but nothing’s ever simple with Viktor,” Yuri mutters.

“The task _does_ require three people, so I’d say you’re right,” the Count agrees.

“Wait, three people?” Yuuri asks. “What happens to the fourth?”

“They’ll be taken to the goal area by the staff to wait for the others to arrive,” the Count explains.

Yuuri frowns, holding up the instruction sheet to his face. He doesn’t remember reading that, but…

“It’s not in there,” the Count says, tugging the paper down. “I, uh, asked someone on the way here.”

“Oh,” Yuuri says, giving the Count a smile. “That was smart.”

“Not as much as you’d think,” Mr. Bandages says with a snort, clapping a preening Count on the back. “Anyway, who’s going to sit this one out?”

“Uh… I can,” Yuuri says quickly. “I mean, if nobody else wants to. Uh…”

“Great, so you _are_ useless,” Yuri groans.

“Eros isn’t useless,” the Count speaks up. “He has a lot of skills.”

“How would you know?” Yuri asks incredulously.

“Actually, I am a little curious as to what you think my skills are,” Yuuri admits. “Not that I don’t have any! Because I do, I just, uh… We hardly know each other!”

The Count turns his bright-eyed gaze to Yuuri.

“Well,” he drawls slowly. “We may not have known each other long, but I happen to know one of your skills already.” His grin turns sharp. “You know how to drive a man crazy!”

Yuri splutters, and Yuuri doesn’t fare much better himself.

“You— You think— _Really?_ Yuuri asks. He knows the Count probably doesn’t mean it seriously (or if he does, it’s the kind of thing he’d only say about “Eros.” If he knew who Yuuri was, he’d never think anything like that), and yet his heart still flutters at the words.

“I know from experience,” the Count says, placing a hand over his chest. “It’s highly effective.”

“Okay, so since Eros has no skills that _can actually help us,_ Yuri growls, “I say he sits out.”

“That’s fine—” Yuuri starts.

“No it isn’t!” the Count interjects. “Who died and made you leader?”

“Somebody has to do it, and I don’t see any of you stepping up!” Yuri says.

“You can’t be a leader with that attitude,” the Count says seriously. “Being a leader requires people skills. You have to think about what other people want.”

“And I suppose you think you have people skills?” Yuri says with a roll of his eyes.

“No, I never said that. I’m only interested in getting what I want,” the Count mutters before quickly continuing. “I say we should let Eros lead.”

“But that doesn’t make sense! He has no skills and—” Yuri starts to protest

“All in favor?” the Count asks with a grin.

The Count and Mr. Bandages both raise their hands. Yuri crosses his arms and glares at Yuuri. And Yuuri… Yuuri is still shocked that this is even happening.

“I… I guess I can… If you want me to,” he says, shrugging. “I’ll, uh, try my best either way, but if it will help us get along, sure.”

“Ugh, fine. I can see when I’ve lost,” Yuri grumbles. “You can prove you’re not useless by making sure we win today.”

“Right…” Yuuri says, chuckling nervously. “So, do we actually know anything about this door that we need to find?”

“It’s hidden and there’s a special lock,” Yuri says. “That was in the instructions.”

“Right, but what I meant was, do we know anything else?” Yuuri asks. He glances over at the Count. “I don’t suppose the staff happened to tell you anything about the door while you were talking to them?”

The Count shakes his head.

“Nope! That would be cheating,” he says. “All the teams get the same amount of information.”

“Right, that’s fair,” Yuuri says with a short nod. “In that case, we should split up and look for—”

“Actually, we have to choose our team, first,” Yuri interrupts. “Or did you forget what this whole argument was about in the first place?”

“Oh, uh, yes,” Yuuri mumbles. “I mean, yes, we have to choose teams, not yes that I forgot. I guess if I’m the leader I’m not sitting out, so…”

It doesn’t take long for Yuuri to figure out who to pick. The Count is the obvious choice. Not only is Yuuri genuinely interested in getting to know the man more, but it’s also kind of his fault that Yuuri is the leader in the first place. And Yuri, as contentious as he is, is also an obvious choice. At the very least, he won’t have very much fun if he has to sit out, and Yuuri would feel bad if he came all the way to America just for Viktor’s party only to end up completely bored the whole time. Besides, there’s a part of Yuuri that wants to show the teen that he’s totally underestimating what Yuuri can do, and Yuuri can’t prove anything to Yuri if Yuri isn’t around to see it.

“Sorry, Mr. Bandages, but would you mind sitting this one out?” Yuuri says, glancing apologetically at the bandaged man, who honestly doesn’t seem to care.

“Good luck, you three,” Mr. Bandages says, giving them a little wave as he exits.

“Let’s have fun!” the Count says enthusiastically.

“Let’s _win,_ ” Yuri corrects.

A waiter hands Yuuri the second clue to finding the door. 

“A key that must be held, a key that must be spun, a third that must be solved, until you’re left with none,” Yuuri reads aloud. Well, great; that’s cryptic. “It also says that we don’t have to leave the room to find the first key. So I guess we’d better start looking…”

“Viktor always overdoes everything, so I doubt we’re looking for a normal key,” Yuri says. “Keep an eye out for anything weird.”

The three of them start searching the room, but with such a vague clue to go on, it’s hard to know what to even look for.

“Where are we supposed to use this key?” Yuuri asks aloud as he picks up a chair (the clue said that one of the keys “must be held,” so Yuuri’s best idea is to just go around holding things… It’s not working well).

“We can figure that out when we find it,” Yuri mutters. He picks up several books one-by-one of the shelf, but nothing happens.

Suddenly, Yuuri feels arms wrap around him from behind, and he lets out a yelp, though he relaxes when he sees it’s only the Count.

“What are you doing?” Yuuri asks in amusement.

“Holding you,” the Count replies. “Maybe you’re the key we’re looking for.”

“Funny, but I think I’d know if I were the key,” Yuuri says with a smile.

“Stop fooling around and get back to looking!” Yuri snaps without looking at them.

Yuri’s words bring Yuuri back to his senses, and he quickly pushes the Count away. If Yuuri isn’t careful, he might get carried away with the Count’s games. Whatever they have between them isn’t actually real. Yuuri knows this; it’s just… very easy to give in to him.

After a few more minutes of searching to no avail, Yuuri is startled by a loud banging noise. He whips his head around, but he the cause isn’t immediately apparent.

“I found it,” Yuri says. He’s standing on a stool he’d pushed over to a shelf, and his hand stretches out awkwardly, just barely reaching the top of the shelf. He pushes his hand back a bit, and the wall behind them slides open, but the second he lets go, the wall slides back with a bang.

“You have to literally hold it,” Yuri says, sounding proud. “But it’s in this super weird position, so whoever’s holding it has to stay behind.”

“Great job, Mr. Wolf,” Yuuri says. “How long do you think you can hold it open?”

“As long as it takes you to get through, I guess. As long as you don’t just laze around,” Yuri says. “I guess that means you’ve already decided I’m staying behind. But whatever, I wouldn’t trust either of you not to drop it on me, anyway. At least you can trust _me_ to do it right.”

Yuuri and the Count make it through the door as quickly as they can. The Count tugs Yuuri along by the hand, not that Yuuri needs any encouragement to run The door slams back down behind them a second later, and then the two of them are alone in a surprisingly well-lit hallway.

“I was kind of expecting to find a dark dungeon. It seems like that’s where secret passages usually lead,” Yuuri remarks offhandedly.

“We’re in a mansion, not a castle,” the Count says with a laugh. “Why would there be a dungeon? Isn’t that a little creepy?”

“It’s Halloween; creepy is the point. It would be exciting,” Yuuri insists. “If anyone can make a mansion dungeon seem fun, it’s Viktor.”

“Hmm… I’ll have to think about that,” the Count murmurs.

“Yes, well, maybe do that later. Mr. Wolf is going to be furious if we don’t find the second key soon,” Yuuri says, trying to get things back on track. “I don’t see anything to be spun here; do you?”

“It must be closer to the other end,” the Count says. “We’ll be alone together for a bit longer. I’m glad.”

Yuuri’s heart pounds. He shouldn’t let everything the Count says affect him so much. He’s… flirting(?) with the god of love, not with Yuuri himself. This is what Yuuri gets for coming as such a character, but… Well, to be fair, Yuuri has had people flirt with him before! He usually isn’t this affected!

Maybe it’s because he looks so much like Viktor. Yuuri feels a little bad, actually. The Count really seems like an interesting person; he deserves a lot better than a dime-a-dozen skater flirting with him incognito just because he bears a resemblance to a celebrity.

Yuuri and the Count walk forward together until they reach a dead end. In front of them stands a table with a strange machine on it.

“It’s a wimshurst machine,” the Count explains at Yuuri’s bewildered look. “You spin it to generate electricity. I assume that’s what will open the door.”

“Oh,” Yuuri says. “I guess that means only one of us can move on again.”

“There’s a reason it’s a three-person task,” the Count agrees. “Though now I’m starting to regret it. You’ll have to leave me back here.”

“You want to stay back?” Yuuri asks. “Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better for you to go on ahead while I stay here?”

“Hmm, but aren’t you our fearless leader?” the Count asks with a smile. “THe leader always goes forward, even when they have to leave others behind. Isn’t that how stories always go?”

Yuuri frowns. He’s not fearless, he’s only the leader because he didn’t want to disagree, and this isn’t an adventure story.

“But it would be better if you went. Look, I didn’t even know what this wimshurst thing was until you told me. What if I get to the next key and can’t figure out what to do?”

Oh, god, he’s going to look useless. Yuri will never believe that he isn’t useless. The Count, who’s had so much faith in him up to this point, will think he’s useless.

“Hey,” the Count says softly, breaking Yuuri out of his thoughts. “You really don’t have any confidence in yourself, do you?”

He doesn’t say it unkindly, just bluntly, like he’s stating a fact (which, to be fair, he is), but Yuuri flinches anyway.

“I really don’t,” Yuuri agrees miserably.

“In that case,” the Count murmurs, staring intensely into Yuuri’s eyes, “I will work with you to make you more confident.”

Yuuri takes a step backwards in shock.

“What?” he exclaims. “How? Why?”

“The why is easy,” the Count says. “Because I want to see how you look when you know what you want.”

The answer doesn’t make a lot of sense, but the Count continues before Yuuri can say anything.

“As for how… Well, we have two weeks. I’ll figure it out,” he says. “But for right now, let’s start building your confidence by having you go solve that next clue on your own.”

Yuuri almost feels like he’s been played, turned back around right where the Count wanted him in the first place. And yet… It doesn’t exactly seem like a trick. The Count’s eyes are friendly and his smile is warm; there isn’t a single hint of malice or mocking in his expression.

“Is this what it meant when it said you were skilled in negotiation?” Yuuri mutters, which makes the Count laugh.

“I see you read my skill sheet, unlike Mr. Wolf,” he says.

“Well, yeah,” Yuuri says, feeling a little embarrassed for some reason. Reading the skill sheets was a perfectly reasonable thing to do! He read everybody’s! And yet, Yuuri has to avert his gaze from the Count. “Anyway, let’s just get on with the task.”

“Wow, what a firm order. That’s a good start,” the Count says. “Blushing and hiding your face in your hands takes away from your overall presentation, though. Four out of ten.”

“Don’t you have a machine to be spinning?”Yuuri groans.

It takes the Count a rather large amount of effort to turn the machine, and he even has to grit his teeth a bit.

“Okay, I can keep this going for long enough for you to get through,” the Count grounds out. “But once I stop, the door’s going to slam back down. This is where we part for now. I’ll see you at the end, Eros.”

“See you…” Yuuri murmurs, and then, taking a deep breath, he passes through the door to where the next key awaits him.

This room’s door is in plain sight, thank goodness, but as Yuuri approaches, the meaning of a key that “must be solved” becomes very clear. There’s a sliding puzzle on the door, created out of a picture of Makkachin, Viktor’s dog.

(He takes a moment of silence in Vicchan’s honor—he really did look just like a smaller version of Makkachin—but he can’t feel too sad at the moment, not while he’s looking at an adorable picture of Makkachin playfully sticking his tongue out.)

Luckily, Yuuri’s great at solving puzzles (years of playing Legend of Zelda games helps a lot in that area), and he finishes putting the pieces into place in just a little over a minute.

Okay, so that was a lot easier than he expected. Maybe he really _shouldn’t_ have been worried.

The moment the last piece slides into place, another door opens, and one of the mansion’s staff walks in, informing Yuuri that his team has won five points and that he can go regroup with everybody now.

Yuuri follows the attendant to a room where the other three members are already sitting. The Count immediately stands up, running over to wrap an arm around Yuuri’s shoulder.

“Congratulations! You got us a five!” he says happily. “See, you… didn’t actually need me at all!”

Yuuri shakes his head.

“It’s a shame you couldn’t have come with me anyway. I think you would have liked it. There was a sliding puzzle with Makkachin. You like dogs, right?”

“I… I love dogs,” the Count says, his eyes widening.

“So do I. You had dog whispering listed as a skill, so I thought… But I wasn’t sure… But I don’t know, it was very cute. If hey hadn’t taken our phones away, I could have gotten a picture for you, but, uh, well…”

“Dog whispering?” Yuri snorts. “What kind of skill is that? It’s official, you’re more useless than Eros. At least he knows how to solve puzzles.”

“You know you have ‘cat whispering’ listed on yours, don’t you?” Yuuri teases, feeling just the slightest bit bolder now that Yuri doesn’t seem infuriated by Yuuri’s very existence.

“What? No way; you’re lying!” Yuri protests, jumping up off the couch with his hands raised like he’s ready to start a fistfight. “ Viktor wouldn’t— What am I saying; of course he would. Stupid asshole.”

“Did you seriously not read past Eros’s page?” Mr. Bandages asks in amusement.

Yuri flushes.

“I was distracted by how shitty it was,” Yuri explains to a chorus of laughter. “Shut up, all of you! I’ll read the rest later, okay?”

“Oh, please do,” the Count says, grinning widely. 

Yuuri decides to take a seat at that point. The Count follows on his right, and on his left, Yuri sits back down with a huff. Yuuri turns his attention to the large TV screen on the wall in front of him. There’s no sound, but Yuuri can see people doing… a lot of different things, actually.

“So, uh, what are we watching here?” Yuuri asks.

“The other teams completing their tasks,” the Count explains.

“Really? But they’re—”

“All different, yeah, I know,” Yuri interrupts. “I’m so pissed at how easy some of these other people had it. I had to climb the damn shelves, and some idiots are over here literally picking roses.”

“I think it’s fun to watch,” the Count says, and Yuuri agrees. On the screen, a man dressed as a masked superhero trips over his own cape, and one of his teammates doubles over with laughter. Yuuri has to stifle a chuckle of his own.

“It’s not fun. It’s research,” Yuri argues. “You have to know who to watch out for, who you have to beat.”

Yuuri closes his eyes for a moment. It’s all too real for him. How many times has he watched the other skaters he’s competing against? How many times has he watched them, and felt the horrible fear of never being able to match up? He wonders if Yuri feels it, too. Surely he must. The figure skating world lacks a prodigy; there’s always somebody out there doing something (or everything) better than you.

Then again, from what Yuuri’s seen of Junior GPF Gold Medalist’s skating, he may very well be the prodigy the skating community has been searching for. Maybe Yuri doesn’t feel the same way Yuuri always does.

“You know research can also be fun, don’t you?” Mr. Bandages chimes in, drawing Yuuri’s attention back. “Despite apparently popular belief, it _is_ possible to enjoy your work.”

Yuri and the Count regard Mr. Bandages with deadpan expressions that are surprisingly similar. Yuuri can’t hold back his chuckle.

A couple of hours later, a now familiar tone play, signalling an announcement.

“All teams have now finished their tasks, one way or another,” Viktor’s voice booms over the speakers. “Congratulations to those who were successful, and condolences to those who weren’t. Don’t worry too much! Tomorrow is another day, after all!”

Yuuri has no doubt that the words would have offered him no comfort if he had had been unsuccessful today, but since his team had gotten the full five points, he finds himself smiling at Viktor’s attempt to cheer people up.

“As for today, normally I’d have everyone gather in the dining hall for dinner,” Viktor continues, “but seeing as we’re doing the whole team thing, we might as well stick to it. Dinner will be brought to each team’s current team area, but be warned: your performance in the task determines the quality of the food! Just a little something I thought would spice things up! Enjoy~”

The tone plays again as the announcement ends.

“All the losers are going to be so pissed,” Yuri says with a snicker. “That’s a crappy move, but we did great, so I don’t really care.”

“I’m sure even the people who didn’t get any points are still going to get something good,” the Count says quietly. “Just… perhaps not fancy, like…”

At that point, a waiter comes into the room, wheeling a cart filled with plated covered with silver domes. Another waiter follows him, and then another, and another, and…

“Is this all for us?” Yuuri asks in a mixture of hope and horror. On the one hand, if dinner is anything like breakfast, it’s going to be delicious. On the other hand, Yuuri might as well just set fire to his structured diet plan now.

“Eat what you like, and the staff will take care of the rest,” the Count says as he uncovers a plate of delicious-smelling chicken.

“You act like this is a normal thing,” Yuuri mutters.

“It is with Viktor,” Yuri says, grabbing himself a plate. “He’s always like this.”

“He likes to splurge,” the Count says.

“Which explains the entire event,” Mr. Bandages adds, smiling at the Count.

“Viktor’s so nice,” Yuuri murmurs without thinking, sighing as the wonderful aromas of the food waft over him.

He immediately loads his plate with every delicious food on the table.

“The pig strikes again,” Yuri grumbles, but he, too, piles up his plate with a lot of food.

The Count sits next to Yuuri, his face slightly flushed.

“Do you like the food, Eros?” he asks quietly. He doesn’t seem that fond of his own food, considering that he pokes it with his fork more often than he actually puts it in his mouth.

Yuuri can’t answer for several seconds because of all the food in his mouth, but really, isn’t that an answer in itself.

“It’s hard to believe that this kind of thing is considered normal for Viktor,” Yuuri says at last. “When I was growing up, my family always had to budget. We had enough to live on, but extravagant spending was just… unthinkable,” Yuuri 

“Same,” Yuri chimes in. “I never had money to throw around, that’s for sure. But if Viktor is going to anyway, then hell, I’ll take advantage of it.”

“He wouldn’t do it at all if he didn’t want you to take advantage of it,” the Count says.

“I, for one, have taken all the advantage I can handle tonight,” Mr. Bandages says, patting his stomach.

“Weak,” Yuri says as he shovels another large bite into his mouth.

“We’re not all ravenous teenagers,” Mr. Bandages teases. “What are you, like, 13?”

“Fuck you, I’m 16,” Yuri spits (literally, food particles fly out of his mouth… Yuuri’s torn between laughing and cringing).

“That’s disgusting,” the Count says. Obviously having noticed Yuri’s spittle as well. “Teenager germs.”

Yuri glares and mimes biting him, and the Count ducks behind Yuuri’s back.

“Eros, protect me!” the Count cries. “There’s a wolf out for my blood!”

“Vampire vs werewolf, a halloween classic,” Mr. Bandages says in delight.

Yuuri laughs. His heart feels warm and light. Looking at everyone together like this, he can’t help but feel like they make a good team.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, as soon as Yuuri is finished getting dressed, the first thing he does is check under the door for a note.

He doesn’t find a note, but that becomes very unimportant when a fire alarm suddenly blares to life. He runs out of his room and makes his way outside like his life depends on it (because for all he knows, it does). From the looks of it, everyone else has had the same idea.

Glancing around, Yuuri spots Mr. Bandages off to the side, away from the rest of the crowd. A few seconds later, he sees Yuri right in the middle of the crowd, trying and failing to push through. Yuuri is too far away to make out the expression on his face, but Yuuri assumes that it’s fury.

Yuuri scans the area for the Count, but he doesn’t see him. He looks again, and then one more time, but to no avail.

A surge of fear travels up Yuuri’s spine. Did the Count not make it out? Is he okay? Should Yuuri tell someone? Surely he wouldn’t have stayed inside? He could have overslept… but who could sleep through that alarm? What if something terrible has happened?

He’s so deep in his thoughts that the sudden weight of a hand on his shoulder frightens him so badly that he jumps.backwards.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” the Count says, smiling apologetically.

Yuuri is immediately overwhelmed with relief. Now that he can think again, he realizes just how shallow his breathing had become. He inhales and then lets out a shuddery sigh.

“Where were you?” he asks. “You just came out of nowhere!”

“I was looking for the rest of our group,” the Count says after a pause. “Mr. Bandages was easy enough to find, but Mr. Wolf is so short that it’s hard to spot him in a crowd. And you were running around over here…”

“I was looking for you!” Yuuri exclaims. “I… I couldn’t find you anywhere! I was worried...”

“Eros…” the ount murmurs, closing his eyes. “We must have kept missing each other. I’m sorry; if I’d known you would worry...”

“No, it’s fine,” Yuuri says quickly. “I spotted the others pretty quickly, so I knew they were okay. I just… I wanted to make sure you weren’t stuck in the building, trapped by the fire or something.”

“Ah…” the Count breathes, his eyes snapping open to regard Yuuri with his warm gaze.

His eyes, Yuuri notices, are blue. He must not have forgotten to put his contacts in, or perhaps he didn’t have time in the rush to get out of the building.

“Well,” the Count continues, visibly swallowing, “now that we’ve found each other, we should probably meet up with the others, even if I’d rather have you to myself for a little longer,” he says, offering a smile.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Yuuri agrees. “We don’t want the others to get worried. Well, Mr. Wolf would probably just get angry…”

The Count laughs, and then, shockingly, he grabs hold of Yuuri’s arm.

“W-What are you doing?” Yuuri asks. It’s not that he minds all that much, but it’s just so unexpected…

“Holding on to you,” the Count says cheerfully. “So we don’t get separated again.”

“I don’t think we’d get separated at this point…” Yuuri mutters, but he makes no move to push the Count off. On the contrary, he leans into the touch just a little bit. Yuuri thinks he should be excused; after all, he had been concerned for the Count’s _life_ just a few minutes ago.

They make there way over to where Mr. Bandages and Yuri are standing together. Yuri takes one look at their linked arms and shoots the Count a fierce glare.

“You are unbelievable,” he hisses. He glances at Yuuri for a second, but then pointedly ignores him.

It feels worse than getting yelled at, and Yuuri isn’t sure what he did to deserve it. He’d thought that he and Yuri were getting along last night… Was he wrong?

“Viktor had better start explaining why the fuck he’s got us all out here,” Yuri continues as he continues to glare at the Count.

“Oh, so you noticed it, too?” the Count says with a grin.

“Wait, noticed what? What do you mean Viktor’s got us out here. Wasn’t there a fire?” Yuuri asks. Nothing is making sense to him this morning.

“If it was a real fire, the sprinkler system would have kicked in, and the help would be out here trying to control the situation,” Mr. Bandages says calmly. 

“Viktor doesn’t skimp on safety precautions,” the Count says. “He wouldn’t let anyone get hurt.”

“So… Viktor planned this?” Yuuri asks, trying to wrap his head around it. “Isn’t that dangerous, though? What if everybody had panicked and… and stampeded, or something?”

Yuri snorts.

“You were the only one who thought it was real, moron,” he says, rolling his eyes.

Yuuri falls quiet. It’s true, though; he’s the only one who was worried. But how was he supposed to know? Everyone else is familiar with Viktor, or at least with Viktor’s parties, and Yuuri’s just… Yuuri’s just a random, unimportant person. He’s never even talked to Viktor.

“Oh, stop it with the kicked puppy face,” Yuri snaps. “Viktor’s got a flair for being dramatic even when it’s really inappropriate. You’re just going to have to get used to it.”

By the time Yuuri gets used to it, the event’s going to be over and he’ll never see Viktor again, so really, what does it matter? But he nods anyway.

“It makes life fun, though, doesn’t it?” the Count asks.

“Viktor’s surprises are usually good, so I guess so,” Yuuri agrees. 

Before anyone can say anything more, Yuuri spots a figure on the roof.

“Is that… Viktor up there?” he asks, squinting. Sure enough, a silver-haired man in a Phantom of the Opera costume is standing on the roof.

“Ridiculous,” Yuri mutters.

“I thank you all for gathering here this fine morning. I hope that you slept well,” Viktor’s voice carries out, surprisingly loud considering the distance. He must have a microphone hooked up to the speakers in the yard.

“There’s nothing like a fire scare to get the blood pumping, but rest assured that there was no fire,” Viktor continues. “Today’s task will require every member of each team to work together. I hope you will enjoy it~”

He drops something, releasing a cloud of smoke, and when it clears, Viktor is gone.

“He didn’t even tell us what the task is…” Yuuri murmurs.

“Wait for it,” Mr. Bandages says with a smirk. 

All of a sudden, a multitude of waiters spill out into the yard, each pushing a cart of food. One of them approaches Yuuri with a clue, which Yuuri accepts gingerly. He’s also interested in the tray of breakfast the waiter brings with him, though, so he figures the clue can wait for a little bit.

Once everyone has finished eating, Yuuri finally opens up the envelope to reveal the clue.

Except, uh…

“It’s only half a clue,” Yuuri says.

“How do you know?” Yuri asks. “Maybe you’re just not reading it right! Let me see it!”

“I know because it says right here we need to find the other half,” Yuuri retorts, but he hands the clue off the Yuri anyway.

“Stupid Viktor and his stupid need for two clues,” Yuri mutters as he reads. “This has got to be breaking some kind of rule.”

“Is it really two clues if—” the Count starts.

“Yes,” Yuri interrupts.

“Well, Viktor doesn’t actually have any rules. Just because he’s always stuck to one clue before doesn’t mean you should expect that to continue,” the Count says.

“Shut up. I’m going to read it out loud,” Yuri says. “Find the Troll of Riddles, there you’ll negotiate, let’s see if you can pass, this very special gate.”

“The ‘Troll of Riddles,’ huh? Sounds like Viktor,” Mr. Bandages says with a laugh.

“Mr. Bandages, please… I doubt that’s what it means,” the Count says says, a strained expression on his face.

“So, it’s a troll… troll? Like with the bridge, and the goats? That kind of troll?” Yuuri suggests.

“Like the Three Billy Goats Gruff. I’ve always liked that story,” the Count says with a smile. “It’s probably like that, yes. This is a Halloween event, after all.”

“Anyone have any idea of where we might find the troll?” Mr. Bandages asks.

“Viktor’s always a drama queen, so obviously at a bridge,” Yuri says. “Know of any bridges around here? I don’t suppose anyone’s an expert on the layout of this place or anything?”

The Count looks down at the ground for a moment before he speaks up.

“I think there’s a bridge in the South Gardens,” he says quietly.

“Let’s fucking go, then,” Yuri says, stepping forward.

“I’ll lead the way, since I actually know where it is,” the Count insists, brushing past Yuri. “That is, if it’s okay with our leader?” he adds, shooting Yuuri a smile.

Oh, right. Yuuri’s supposed to be learning confidence as a leader or something. It’s a little hard when he has no idea what he’s doing, but, well, even if he has no confidence in himself, he _does_ have confidence in the Count, so…

“Yes, of course,” Yuuri says. “Please lead the way, Count.”

They follow the Count around the side of the mansion until they come across a stream in the middle of a lush, tree-filled area. On the bridge there stands a man in a troll costume.

“So… if we’re the only ones here, does that mean that we’re the only ones with this clue? Are the tasks all different again?” Yuuri asks, looking around to make sure they really are alone.

“It looks that way,” Mr. Bandages says.

The troll approaches them then, letting out a little growl.

“Halt, mortals!” he says. “What business do you have here?”

“This is your bridge?” Yuuri asks. “It’s tiny. At least we know you’re not compensating for... something…uh...” he trails off, a blush rising to his face.

Why on earth would he say that? This whole Eros character thing must be messing with his head.

“Me and my bridge are none of your business,” the troll says crossly. “And you can’t cross it, so scram!”

“Yeah, well I’ll tell you where you can shove your bridge and—” Yuri starts.

Yuuri panics.

“Uh… team meeting now!” he shouts, grabbing Yuri by the tail of his suit and dragging him out of earshot of the troll. Luckily, the Count and Mr. Bandages follow along.

“Okay, so, we have to negotiate,” Yuuri says quietly as they all huddle together. “Uh, I’d rather… not… so, who else is going to do it?”

“Oh, let me!” the Count says excitedly. “I can charm the pants off of— No, wait, that’s not… what I meant… ha...” he says, trailing off in shame much the way Yuuri had previously. Yuuri would think he was being made fun of, except the Count looks genuinely flustered.

“Oh my god, you two are both disasters,” Yuri groans. “Just let me do it.”

“You’d fight the troll if you had your way,” Mr. Bandages protests. “I can give it a shot, but honestly, you should let the Count do it. Unfortunate turns of phrase aside, he really is quite charming.”

“It would be silly not to let our skilled negotiator negotiate,” Yuuri says, nodding. “Do your thing, Count. Just please don’t seduce the troll.”

“Seduction is more Mr. Bandages’s style, anyway,” the Count says, averting his eyes from Yuuri. “Besides, he’s not the one I’m interested in.”

A tiny voice inside Yuuri pipes up with a “Who are you interested in? Me? Is it me?” but Yuuri quickly quashes that particular thought. It’s better if the Count _isn’t_ interested in Yuuri, because otherwise he’ll be awfully disappointed at the end of the event when he finds out that Yuuri’s nobody interesting and they surely operate on different planes of existence anyway and nothing would ever work out even if Yuuri wanted it to, which Yuuri isn’t even sure he does because he’s only known the Count for a couple of days and he’s still not sure he doesn’t just like him because he reminds him of Viktor, and that can’t be a good basis for a relationship, not that they have a relationship, or that the Count would ever want one, because wow, Yuuri’s assuming, but _if_ he did, it’s not like Yuuri would be opposed, because he actually kind of feels good around the Count, but the whole point is that it would be a disaster because Yuuri’s a mess, and—

Oh, the Count is already walking over to the troll.

A few minutes later, he returns with a pleased smile on his face.

“He’ll let Eros and Mr. Wolf cross, and he’ll give them the second clue and walkie-talkies.” he informs them.

“You call that skilled negotiating? Why didn’t you get us all across?” Yuri complains.

“Because from what I found out from the troll, walkie-talkies are much more useful than the number of people you have,” the Count explains. “Two walkie-talkies, so two people have to stay behind. Eros has to go forward as the leader, and I figured _you_ would be angry if you had to stay behind.”

“Yeah, well…” Yuri mutters. “Whatever, let’s just hurry up,” he says, pushing Yuuri ahead from behind.

“Have fun!” the Count yells after them.

This time, the troll doesn’t try to stop them when they cross the bridge. Instead, he hands them a couple of walkie-talkies.

“This way you can contact your papa if you get separated,” the troll tells Yuri. 

Predictably, Yuri erupts.

“My _what?_ ” he screams. “How old do you think I am?”

“How old do you think _I_ am?” Yuuri mutters. If only he could be like Minako, his mother’s longtime friend. She’d never be assumed to be old enough to have a 16-year old child, even though _she_ actually _is._

“Here, your husband also bargained for this,” the troll says, placing the clue into Yuuri’s hands.

Yuuri barely has the sense to keep it in his grasp.

“My _what?_ ” Yuuri screeches at a volume only slightly less than Yuri. 

“Did he tell you we were his family?” Yuri demands angrily. “I’m going to murder him!”

“If you’re not his family, then you can’t cross,” the troll says. “He bargained for safe passage of his husband and son. If you aren’t them, then scram.”

“Oh, no, we are,” Yuuri says quickly. “We’re just, uh, lowkey about it? Come on, son, let’s go,” Yuuri says awkwardly, grabbing onto Yuri’s hand as they run across the bridge.

The second they reach the other side, Yuri snatches his hand back.

“He’s so stupid,” he mutters.“And so are you! You didn’t have to go along with it!”

“We did if we wanted to get across,” Yuuri argues. Yuri opens his mouth with an angry glare, but so Yuuri hurries to cut him off before he can begin a tirade.”Here, let’s look at the clue,” he says. “Get up high and see below, where you stop - you should know.”

“That’s it?” Yuri asks, apparently willing to roll with the change in subject, to Yuuri’s relief.

“Yeah, this one’s shorter than the others,” Yuuri says, passing the note over so that Yuri can see it. “So, up high… The roof?”

“Nah, Viktor wouldn’t make us come out here just to go back and climb the roof,” Yuri says. “Maybe I can climb this tree and look around. It’s certainly up high.”

Sure enough, the tree in front of them towers above everything else in the area.

But… Yuuri isn’t sure Yuri should be climbing a tree right now. Clearly, his leg hasn’t been bothering him that much so far, but if he climbs a tree and something goes wrong… Yikes.

“No,” Yuuri says. “You stay here. I’ll climb it.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Yuri argues. “I’m way more flexible than you.. You’re going to hurt yourself. Just let me climb it.”

“You could hurt yourself, too!” Yuuri protests. “I… I don’t want to be responsible… As the leader, I insist you stay on the ground,” he says.

“Pfft, as the leader. Funny,” Yuri says. “You do understand that I’m not actually your son, right? You’re not responsible for me, so chill. It’ll take like two seconds.”

“Maybe I don’t trust you to make it!” Yuuri snaps. It’s a lie, but he can’t think of anything better to say. “You’re a teenager; your body’s doing weird things all the time. You could lose your balance.”

Losing his balance is exactly how Yuri missed his jump and got injured in the first place, and Yuri seems to remember this. His frustrated expression slowly loses its defiant gleam, and now he just looks annoyed with _himself._

“Fine,” he says at last. “Climb the stupid tree yourself.”

“I will,” Yuuri says.

But it’s easier said than done. The tree is huge, and Yuuri, for all the training he’s done to be an athlete, hasn’t exactly practiced for competitive tree-climbing.

Still, after a while, Yuuri gets the hang of it, and he makes it up to a sturdy branch.

He looks out over the gardens, and…

“”I think… I get what the clue was trying to say,” he tells Yuri through his walkie-talkie. “That huge hedge you see from down there is actually a hedge maze. I can see all the way to the goal from up here.”

“So basically, you use the walkie-talkies to give me directions,” Yuri says. “Alright, cool. Let’s do it.”

Yuuri tries his best to guide Yuri to the exit. It goes pretty smoothly, except that sometimes Yuri gets the directions confused.

“Why are you giving me this ‘north, east’ crap? Do I look like I have a compass?” Yuri growls into the walkie-talkie after walking west instead of east like Yuuri told him. “Give me normal directions!”

“Fine, I get it,” Yuuri says. “Just… keep going the way you’re currently facing until you get to a wall.”

Eventually, Yuri makes it out, and Yuuri watches as one of the staff members leads him back around the maze. Yuuri climbs down the tree and joins them, and they make it back to the bridge, where the Count and Mr. Bandages are waiting for them

“You did it!” the Count exclaims as soon as he sees them.

“Excellent navigation skills, both of you,” Mr. Bandages says. 

“Thanks…” Yuuri says “Luckily, Mr. Wolf moves quickly,”

“You bet I do,” Yuri says proudly. “And you didn’t fall out of the tree or anything, so good fucking job on that.”

Yuuri laughs. It’s not really a compliment in itself, but it’s more than he expected from to ever hear from Yuri. Obviously he’s in a good mood from completing the task perfectly (and, okay, Yuuri is, too), because he doesn’t even complain about Yuuri’s direction-giving ability, nor does he try to make good on his earlier promise to murder the Count for what he told the troll.

As a group, they head back to their team room, arriving just in time to hear an announcement ring out over the PA system.

“Due to a multitude of… comments…” Viktor’s voice rings out, “dinner will no longer be based on score.”

Yuri snorts.

“That is all. Enjoy the rest of the day,” Viktor finishes.

The tone signalling the end of the announcement sounds, and as soon as it’s over, Yuri bursts into full laughter.

“I told you everybody would be pissed,” he says. “Celebrities are so fussy, oh my god!”

“I thought it was an interesting idea…” the Count mutters, looking quite put-out. Yuuri feels compelled to make that expression go away, so he gives him a gentle pat on the shoulder. It works a little: the Count’s eyes seem to soften slightly.

“We got full points today, anyway, so it doesn’t really make a difference to us,” Mr. Bandages says.

Sure enough, the dinner that they receive is just as extravagant and delicious as the previous night’s.

“Viktor should have made everybody eat the ‘low-quality’ food,” Yuri says between mouthfuls. “It would serve them right.”

“That’s not what anybody wanted, though,” the Count says, sighing. “Who wants a bunch of angry guests? These parties were always supposed to be for fun.”

“A lot of people here seem to have bad attitudes,” Yuuri says irritatedly. He’s still a little angry about all those people hassling Viktor the first day, and apparently they haven’t stopped. “Nobody is entitled to Viktor. They have no right to demand anything from him.”

“Viktor always gives in, though, so they keep doing it,” Mister Bandages says.

“He just wants them to be happy. Is that so wrong?” the Count asks.

“No…” Yuuri admits. It’s not as though he doesn’t understand the desire to give himself to the world. He shows pieces of himself every time he skates, after all (that’s why it hurts so much to fail; it’s always something personal). “As long as Viktor is happy with it…” 

The Count doesn’t reply, and indeed, he’s strangely silent throughout the entire meal. In fact, Yuuri’s terrified that he’s offended him right up until they’re all going back to their rooms. That’s when the Count brushes a hand against his arm and asks if he can walk Yuuri back to his room.

Yuuri’s so relieved that the Count isn’t mad at him that the thought of saying no doesn’t even occur to him.

He doesn’t think he could have said no, regardless.

Because Viktor’s mansion is ridiculously huge, they actually have to walk for quite a ways. The Count takes him along a different route than the one Yuuri’s been using to get to the team room in the mornings. Yuuri almost tells him that there’s a quicker way, but… Is he really in a hurry? Is it really that big of a deal? No, and he’s not in any rush to get rid of the Count, either.

In the end, Yuuri is glad that they take the long way, because it still feels like they have to part ways too soon.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Eros,” the Count says, looking at Yuuri with a soft smile. His eyes are so, so blue, and Yuuri feels like he could drown in them.

“S-See you, yep,” Yuuri says, his voice stuttering along with his heart. “And please remember to wear your red contacts tomorrow because your eyes are illegal; goodbye,” Yuuri blurts out, immediately yanking the door to his room open and slamming it behind him.

Okay, so that didn’t go great. Yuuri can hear the Count’s laughter on the other side of the door, and his face heats up so quickly that he thinks he might spontaneously combust.

It takes him forever to fall asleep that night, what with his most recent moment of humiliation replaying itself over and over in his mind, but eventually, the exertion of the day gets to him, and he does, at long last, drift off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

When Yuuri wakes up, he feels a little sluggish, and so by the time he gets his costume on, Viktor’s announcement is already playing.

“Good morning, everyone~” Viktor greets. “I hope everyone slept well, and that you’ve enjoyed the tasks so far~”

A muffled mumbling sound comes from the speaker, but Yuuri can’t make out what, if anything, was said.

“Yes, yes, fine,” Viktor says dismissively before he regains his cheerful air. “Everyone’s been doing really well, so today is a special treat. It’s been brought to my attention that not everybody came here to play my little game, so today will be the first rest day. If you wish to go into town or sightseeing, alert one of my staff and they will drive you to your destination. If you choose to stay in the mansion you’ll need to stay in costume, but if you go out, feel free to wear whatever you like. The staff will ensure you’re not seen leaving by any of the participants. Also, your phones will be returned to you and collected tonight. Have fun~”

Well… If Yuuri had known that, he would have just slept in…

The good news, he supposes, is that he can get his phone back and talk to Phichit for a bit. Although, if he does that, he’ll undoubtedly end up talking about the Count for most of the time.

Oh, the Count… Yuuri wonders if he’s planning on staying in the mansion, or if he’s going to go out. Yuuri had been hoping to see him, but with no way of knowing what his plans are, and no idea of where his room is, there’s really nothing Yuuri can do about finding him.

Maybe Yuuri will just go out. Some sightseeing might do him some good. He’s been all over the world for competitions, of course, but he’s always so focused on skating that he tends to ignore the local sights unless Phichit convinces him to tag along with him. And it will be a relief to go out in normal clothes again. He can even wear his glasses for a little longer.

In the end, Yuuri decides to take a look at a famous bakery in the area. He almost considers going to the local skating rink, but the big problem with that is that… well… as hard as it is for people to put “Yuuri Katsuki” together with the messy-haired, glasses-wearing lump Yuuri usually walks around as, if someone _were_ to recognize him as Japan’s (disgr)Ace, it would probably happen at a skating rink, wouldn’t it? It’s just too risky to go there. He also vaguely considers just running to the nearest fast food shop and consuming his stress in cheap hamburgers, but he quickly rules that out. If he’s hungry, he can get something at the bakery, and if he’s not hungry, he still kind of wants to see the place. He can see grease-stained counters and dollar menus anywhere; he would rather try to see something special.

The problem is, when the driver drops Yuuri off at the bakery, he walks in to find it packed from wall to wall with people. It’s worse than any competition Yuuri’s ever been to. At least those have some kind of order! This is a free-for-all!”

“Excuse me, where’s the line?” Yuuri asks one of the men towards the back of the… uh, pack.

“There isn’t one,” he says with no small amount of annoyance. “It’s every man for himself! First to the front gets served.”

Alarmingly, the man takes a running start and barrels into the middle of the crowd in front of him. Many people shout and shove, and next thing Yuuri knows, the man is shoved back out along with five other people.

The man, undeterred, pushes his way back in.

If Yuuri had any sense, he would just leave. But see, he came all this way, and he may never have the chance to eat here again, and he’s a professional athlete who’s stronger than he looks.

No crowd is going to prevent Yuuri from getting a delicious baked treat. Not today.

After skillfully weaving through the people (turns out practicing step sequences is actually good for something off the ice), he finally reaches the counter and is rewarded by being able to purchase all the goodies he wants. 

He leaves the store and is just about to go search for a good place to eat everything when a familiar voice calls out to him.

“Wow, I’m impressed. That’s quite some dedication,” the Count says. Yuuri knows it’s the Count because 1) there probably aren’t two Viktor Nikiforov lookalikes in the area, and 2) that accent is very unique, and 3) Yuuri snaps up to meet his eyes only to see red irises.

Of course, Yuuri can only look at the man for a few seconds, because the shirt he’s wearing is a _blindingly bright yellow._

“Why would you wear that?” Yuuri cries, averting his gaze. “It’s like looking at the sun!”

The Count laughs at him.

“Would you rather I take it off?” he asks teasingly. “I’m not wearing anything under it, but if you want me to strip for you—”

“No, no, no!” Yuuri interrupts, frantically waving his arms. “That’s not— I don’t— Do you offer to strip for every stranger you meet?”

The Count’s smile thins.

“I didn’t think we were strangers,” he says. “Am I so unmemorable to you?”

Yuuri’s eyes widen. Crap, he wasn’t supposed to be recognized! Nobody ever recognizes him with his glasses on! And he didn’t want to offend the Count! He’s just trying to follow the rules of the game, here!

“We aren’t supposed to see each other out of costume!” Yuuri hisses under his breath, frantically looking around to make sure nobody is listening. “Don’t… Don’t say it like that...I-I just feel like we’re doing something wrong, talking like this…”

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” the Count says with a wink, though his smile is still a little thin. Yuuri doesn’t want to annoy him any further, so he just nods, his eyes downcast.

“Uh, so were you going to try to buy some pastries, too?” Yuuri asks awkwardly just to change the subject.

“Hmm? Oh, the bakery. Right,” the Count says, shrugging. “The food is good, but I don’t feel like dealing with all those people today.”

Yuuri nods in understanding. He feels like avoiding people sometimes (okay, often), too.

“Do you want one of mine?” Yuuri asks, pushing his bag forward. “Uh, I don’t know if there’s anything you’d like in here, but I did buy a lot of stuff…”

He bought more than he has any desire to eat right now, actually. He can always take any leftovers back to the mansion, but he really wouldn’t mind if the Count took some himself.

Happily, this offer puts a grin back on the Count’s face.

“Ooh, what did you get?” the Count asks as he pokes through Yuuri’s bag. “Eclairs, cream puffs, cherry pie... And is that green tea cake? It all looks good!” he exclaims excitedly.

“Just save me _something,_ ” Yuuri teases.

“You’ve never had anything from here, have you?” the Count asks. At the shake of Yuuri’s head, he continues. “I don’t want to take anything from you. I want to see you try everything. Let’s split it all, instead! I even know the perfect place to enjoy it! There’s a beach not too far from here, and there’s a little rocky area protected from the wind and sand. Do you want to go with me?”

“Eating desserts on a beach? That almost sounds like a date,” Yuuri says with a laugh.

“Now you’re getting the idea!” the Count agrees cheerfully.

Yuuri chokes.

“Wha— Really?” he asks incredulously. “I-I mean… I’d love to, but …”

“I feel like we don’t get to spend enough time together in the mansion,” the Count says with a pout. “Not that I don’t love our team, but between splitting up for tasks and eating all our meals as a group, there’s not that much time for us to get closer. Since today’s a free day, I was hoping we could spend it together.”

His eyes seem to bore into Yuuri, and Yuuri’s glad he chose to wear the red contacts today after all (Was that for him? The Count obviously didn’t need to be in disguise today… Is it arrogant if Yuuri thinks he might have done it for him?), because he certainly couldn’t handle the Count’s natural blue eyes looking at him like that.

“I’d love that,” Yuuri says, swallowing thickly.

It doesn’t make sense for the Count to be so interested in him. And Yuuri knows that after the Halloween event is over, everything’s going to fall apart. But for now…

He feels so happy.

The beach the Count ends up bringing them to is beautiful. The water is a vibrant blue, the sand is pale and fine, and a few seagulls dot the cloudless sky.

“Isn’t this where they filmed _Midnight Whirlpool_?” Yuuri asks as he sits down on a large, flat rock. The Count sits beside him, and Yuuri pulls out the desserts and places them between them.

Yuuri says it as question, but he’s 100% certain about this. He’s seen _Midnight Whirlpool_ hundreds of times. The image of an 18-year old Viktor Nikiforov ripping off his 19th-century inspired clothing and diving into the water bare-chested was breathtaking when Yuuri first saw it (and frankly, the image is no less awe-inspiring now). 14-year old Yuuri bought about a dozen posters of Viktor as a vampire, and he read every single interview Viktor ever did about the movie.

“He liked this place so much that he bought a mansion close by,” Yuuri says, smiling. “I’m surprised the beach isn’t more crowded, now that I think about it. It’s so beautiful here.”

“It’s also the end of October,” the Count says, chuckling. “With all these rocks around to trip over, and the cold wind, not many people want to come out just to explore.”

Yuuri hums in agreement, but he’s distracted from the conversation the second he puts a bite of cake into his mouth. He lets out an involuntary moan.

“I take it it meets your approval,” the Count murmurs, grabbing a bite for himself. He closes his eyes and lets out a contented sigh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done this…”

The two of them eat without speaking, instead letting the gentle crash of the waves and the soft cries of the seagulls serenade them. It’s peaceful.

Eventually, when Yuuri feels too full to eat anymore, he speaks up again.

“I know you’re here for Viktor’s event like me, but I was wondering… Have you been here before?” he asks. “You led us out here without any trouble, and you looked like you knew what you were doing, and I was really just happy that at least _somebody_ did, and… Oh, wait, is this too personal? You don’t have to tell me if you live here or anything, I just thought that if you knew what was around here, I could ask you for suggestions instead of Google, uh…”

“I travel a lot, so there’s not really one place I consider home…” the Count says quietly, looking up at the sky. A seagull calls out, and he shakes his head. “No, that isn’t true. There is a place, but I haven’t been back there in years. I don’t know if it would still feel like home if I went back.”

The Count’s words tug at Yuuri’s heart. 

“I haven’t been home in a long time, either,” Yuuri says softly. “It’s a small town, so even the slightest change is a huge deal but…” He sighs. “I think I’m more afraid that it might not have changed. And that I might not have changed. I left so I could…” He can’t mention skating. “Well, so I could get better at what I’m doing. I can’t go back as a failure. I don’t want them to see that I’m still weak.”

It’s not something he usually talks about, not even with Phichit, but… Somehow, he thinks the Count will understand. It’s like he’s reaching out with his heart, and it’s a little terrifying.

“I don’t think you’re weak…” the Count says quietly. “But I… have no idea what your hometown would think… Will you tell me about it?”

“Sure. It’s a great place,” Yuuri says with a smile. “Like I said, it’s small, but it’s actually a resort town. It’s called Hasetsu, and it’s in Japan. You should visit if you ever find yourself traveling out there. My parents own an onsen there. Uh, it’s like a hot springs resort. Theirs is actually the only one left, because the tourist industry has sort of declined over the years… Probably because there really isn’t all that much there. It’s worth seeing, though. The hot springs really are to die for, and there’s a nice beach that isn’t quite as rocky as this one, and there are a few entertainment options. There’s, uh, a ninja house, and an ice rink—”

“I’m sold,” the Count interrupts. “When are we going? I’m thinking the summer would be nice, but that’s so long from now… Do you think we could make it in the spring, or is that pushing it too much?”

“We?” Yuuri says with a chuckle. “No, no, didn’t you hear me talk about how I can’t go home yet?”

“You said you don’t want anyone to think that you’re weak,” the Count argues. “But if you’re with me, they’ll all think you’re very noble, helping the poor helpless foreigner orient to his new surroundings.”

Yuuri rolls his eyes in response.

“Oh, come on! Just think of it as me inviting you on vacation!” the Count insists.

“But we’re already on a vacation,” Yuuri points out with a laugh.

“Well, if we want to book a second one any time soon, we’d better start planning now,” the Count says. “These things take a lot of preparation, you know!”

A second vacation. Another chance to escape the anxiety of his career. Another chance to spend more time with the Count.The idea is too pleasing to ignore.

“Okay, okay, I’ll play along,” Yuuri relents. “So, first, I’d probably show you…”

They spend about an hour making up their pretend vacation. It’s just too bad that none of it is real. Yuuri’s starting to think that he _would_ like to go back to the town of his birth and show the Count everything he loves about it.

“Speaking of sightseeing,” the Count says after Yuuri has finished describing all the popular tourist spots he can remember. “Did you want me to give you a tour of this place?” he asks, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. “I, uh, got carried away from your original question, didn’t I? I actually come here quite often, so I’d have no problem showing you around. That’s what you were thinking earlier, right?”

There’s no non-embarrassing way for Yuuri to say that he doesn’t actually care what they do as long as they don’t have to part yet, so he just nods.

The Count ends up taking him deeper down the beach, through a lush green area, and across a long, winding bridge.

“Okay, I can understand why people might avoid the rocky parts of the beach this time of year,” Yuuri says breathlessly. “But why aren’t they swarming this part? It’s so beautiful.”

“Isn’t it?” the Count says with a smile. “This area has lost its novelty to the locals, and the tourists, when they come to the beach, usually stick to the sandy areas that are straight out of _Midnight Whirlpool._ Since nobody ever goes this far, it’s the perfect place to get away and relax.”

“Is that what we’re here to do?” Yuuri asks.

“I guess it is…” the Count murmurs, half to himself.

And when the Count says relax, apparently he _really_ means it, because one minute, he and Yuuri are resting side by side beneath a tree, and the next, the Count is fast asleep, his head falling first onto Yuuri’s shoulder and then slipping into Yuuri’s lap.

Yuuri freaks out for a full five minutes before he decides the best thing to do is just to leave the Count be. Yuuri never realized how strained the Count’s face had been until now, when he can see what it looks like without tension.

Maybe Yuuri should take a nap, too. He could certainly stand to relieve some tension.

He closes his eyes and leans back against the tree, but he doesn’t actually expect to fall asleep. Still, he must doze a little, because after what seems like no more than five minutes, he opens his eyes to see the Count standing over him and shaking him gently.

“Were we asleep for very long?” is the first thing Yuuri asks. He still feels a little sleepy, but it’s in a warm, pleasant way, nothing at all like the usual grogginess that makes him feel half-dead in the mornings.”

“Not that long,” the Count says cheerfully, holding out a hand to help Yuuri stand up. “It’s a little after lunchtime, but since we ate all those desserts before, I didn’t think it would be a problem to have a late lunch.”

“It will be less crowded, anyway,” Yuuri says, smiling. He doesn’t let go of the Count’s hand, and the Count makes no move to let go of Yuuri’s, either. “We can go eat, and then it will probably be about time to head back to the mansion, right?”

“Yes,” the Count agrees, squeezing Yuuri’s hand. “But promise me you’ll eat very slowly.”

Yuuri laughs, his heart feeling warm. He doesn’t want the day to end, either.

The Count takes him to some expensive place that Yuuri definitely can’t afford, but when he tries to protest, the Count stops him.

“I’ll pay for you. After all, you bought me food earlier!” he insists.

Technically, it’s true, but Yuuri thinks that a couple of cakes aren’t quite equivalent.to an expensive meal.

“I don’t want to eat you out of pocket,” Yuuri says embarrassedly.

“You’d be hard pressed to even eat me out of pocket _change,_ ” the Count retorts.

That’s right, the Count, like 98% of Viktor’s guests, is probably filthy rich. But that thought only makes Yuuri feel worse.

“I don’t want to take advantage of you…” he mutters.

The Count scoffs.

“I can tell,” he says in a mixture of frustration and amusement. “You’re not asking for anything at all. I’m just trying to give you a gift. It’s not taking advantage to accept something I’m begging you to take.”

“You… You aren’t begging…” Yuuri protests weakly.

“I’m begging,” the Count repeats, grabbing both of Yuuri’s hands with his own. “Please let me buy your meal. I haven’t cared this much about a purchase in a decade.”

It’s a little over the top, but Yuuri can’t help but acquiesce after that. Even if it’s an exaggeration, Yuuri can understand the sentiment. He’s been on plenty of dates over his five years in America, but he’s never felt as enthusiastic about them as he does about this one with the Count.

Once that issue is settled, their lunch is a happy affair. Yuuri actually does try to eat slowly, but nevertheless, time passes all too quickly, and soon, it’s time to go back to the mansion.

The Count stays with him until the driver comes to pick him up, claiming that he doesn’t want to leave Yuuri alone. Yuuri is more than happy for the company.

Technically, there’s no real reason they shouldn’t just ride back together, since they already know each other’s costumed identity. That might be hard to explain to the staff, though, and so Yuuri reluctantly parts with the Count, who swears that he wants to wait for his driver on his own.

When Yuuri arrives back at the mansion, he makes a beeline for his room. It’s only when one of Viktor’s staff comes to collect his phone that he realizes he completely forgot about calling Phichit.

Well, he’s going to have some explaining to do when he gets back, and Phichit is sure to tease him, but all in all, he can’t say he regrets the day. 

No, on the contrary, it was the best day Yuuri’s had all year.


	5. Chapter 5

Yuuri wakes up feeling surprisingly well-rested and content. Apparently the rest day had actually succeeded in giving him some rest. There really is a first time for everything.

He supposes he has the Count to thank for that.

He dresses quickly and is just about to check the door for a note when the tone preceding Viktor’s announcements plays.

“Good morning, everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful time yesterday,” Viktor says. 

Wonderful is a bit of an understatement, actually.

“Now it’s time to get back to business,” Viktor continues. “You’ll be receiving the first clue shortly. Please follow the clue. That’s all. Good luck.”

The announcement ends with the sound of another tone. Is it just him, or did that seem abrupt?

Yuuri doesn’t have time to think about it, though, because soon somebody is knocking on his door. He opens it to see a man standing there. Yuuri stares at him expectantly, but the man says nothing. After several awkward seconds, Yuuri clears his throat.

“Can I… Can I help you?” he asks.

The man opens his mouth, pauses for a moment, and then speaks.

“It is I who will help you. I am your clue.”

“What?” Yuuri asks, blinking.

“Please follow me to your task,” the man says.

“What about my teammates?” Yuuri asks.

“They have their own clues and their own tasks,” the man explains. “Once you finish your task, you can see them.”

This feels just the slightest bit like ransom, especially because Yuuri was hoping to see the Count in particular _before_ the task.

But he doesn’t complain. The sooner he finishes his task, the sooner he can see everyone. If he’s fast enough, he might even be able to beat them to finishing. He grins at the thought of how Yuri would react to _that._

Yuuri follows the man through several hallways before they come to a stop in front of a door. Just inside is a table laid out with breakfast, and Yuuri immediately begins to eat, but… Something feels off. 

It isn’t until he’s halfway finished that he realizes it’s because he’s eating alone. Over the past few days, Yuuri has been eating his meals with his teammates… or with one of them, at least… and now it feels strange not to have company.

Without anyone else there to engage him in conversation, Yuuri gets through his breakfast very quickly. There’s another awkward moment where he looks towards the clue man expectantly only to be met with silence, but Yuuri quickly realizes that he’s the one who’s going to have to speak.

“So tell me about this task,” he says.

“There’s not much to say,” the man replies. “The four of you need to finish the… game… in the middle of the room. Final points are determined by how well all of you did. Each of your teammates have a different game. That’s about it.”

”I don’t suppose there’s second clue?” Yuuri asks a bit too hopefully.

“Nope,” the man says flatly.

With a sigh, Yuuri heads to the center of the room to examine the game. It’s a simple repeat-the-sequence type of deal, which Yuuri doesn’t expect to have any trouble with. It’s another thing he’s good at from playing video games, although honestly, video games at least have the decency to cloak it with something exciting. This game is pretty basic (although he supposes the lights are quite pretty), and he finishes it without any trouble.

“I have never seen such mastery over—” the man starts.

“It was just a—” Yuuri tries to protest.

“Magnificent! Simply magnificent!”

“It was a very easy task!” Yuuri argues. “Please don’t be so excited!”

If anything, the task was disappointing. The previous tasks had all been fun, but this… Was everyone’s task this easy, or did Yuuri just get unlucky?

(Or… did he get this task because he’d be no good at any of the others?)

The man’s eyes widen, and he blushes.

“Right… Please follow me to the waiting room.”

“Uh… What about the points?” Yuuri asks, because he doubts the man would tell him if he doesn’t.

“I can’t tell you that until the others have finished,” the man says with a shrug before leading Yuuri out.

They pass through several hallways before a beeping sound makes the man stop in his tracks.

“Oh, your last teammate just finished,” the man says, pulling out a small device. “Congratulations, your team receives five points.”

Yuuri enters the waiting room where his teammates have already assembled. The Count gives him a smile when he walks in, which Yuuri returns. Mr. Bandages is stretched out on the couch, looking completely unconcerned. Yuri is sporting his characteristic scowl.

“Uh… We got five points,” Yuuri announces. “Good job, everyone.”

The Count and Mr. Bandages nod their heads approvingly, but Yuri looks just as irritated as ever.

“Yeah, lucky for us,” Yuri mutters, crossing his arms.

“I, uh, was kind of expecting you to be happy about it,” Yuuri says. “Was your task boring, too?”

The Count makes a small coughing sound, then he speaks up.

“He’s pouting because his task wasn’t skill-based,” he says.

“Rock-Paper-Scissors!” Yuri screeches. “And you know what, you’re right, it was boring! Boring _and_ luck-based. It was against a machine! It was programmed! It was—”

“You won every round, so I’d say that takes some skill,” the Count interrupts.

“Just because the AI was shitty and predictable doesn’t mean it was about skill,” Yuri complains. “Eros, what was your boring task?”

“Oh, uh, it wasn’t _that_ bad, Yuuri says awkwardly. “I just had to repeat a few sequences of lights.”

“You didn’t like it,” the Count murmurs. “You did it perfectly, though.”

“Well, yeah, it was a simple task. I mean, I guess it would have been easy to hit the wrong button, or to blink and miss something, but…” Yuuri frowns, trying to figure out what exactly it was that was bothering him. “I guess it’s because the first two tasks were creative, and pretty fun. This one almost felt like a chore.”

“Exactly!” Yuri exclaims. “Viktor’s just getting lazy now. Ugh, it’s disgusting!” he says, standing up. “Now that we’re done here, I’m leaving. I’m not going to waste my time watching the other groups perform tasks as asinine as ours.”

He leaves the room, grumbling all the while, and Yuuri is left with the Count and Mr. Bandages.

“Do you two think Viktor is getting lazy, too?” Yuuri asks with a frown. It can’t be right. Viktor doesn’t just get lazy…

The Count and Mr. Bandages trade incomprehensible looks.

“People have been complaining to Viktor and his staff that the tasks were too hard,” the Count says. “Maybe he thought they would like easier tasks better.”

“I could have told you that wouldn’t work,” Mr. Bandages says. “But sometimes, Viktor gets ideas in his head that he can’t let go of.”

“It… It might not be totally hopeless,” Yuuri says hesitantly. “Mr. Wolf and I _liked_ the other tasks. Maybe the people who didn’t will like today’s.”

“Maybe,” the Count says, but he doesn’t look at all convinced. “At any rate, I think Mr. Wolf is right. It would be a waste to sit around and watch these tasks… I’m going to find somewhere to relax.”

“I think I’m going to go… _network,_ ” Mr. Bandages says with a grin. The Count rolls his eyes and waves him off.

“What are you going to do, Eros?” the Count asks.

“Uh…” 

Yuuri doesn’t know. He can’t just invite himself to join the Count, but there’s not anyone else Yuuri particularly wants to spend time with… Maybe he could find Yuri? But he doesn’t want to push their amicability too far lest it turn back to animosity…

“I’ll figure something out,” Yuuri says. “Uh, I hope you have a good… rest…” he continues awkwardly, not quite sure how to say goodbye to the Count. 

“See you,” the Count says quietly as he exits.

Yuuri tries to pay attention to the other teams on the TV screen, but their tasks _are_ just as easy as Yuuri’s own, and after only ten minutes, Yuuri finds himself bored out of his mind.

There’s got to be something he can do to entertain himself. Yuuri could go to the Main Hall, but… that would put him in a room full of people. Not ideal. He could go to the gardens, but Viktor’s gardens are so big that they’re divided into North, South, East, and West. Yuuri would probably get lost if he went out there on his own. So that leaves... what, the library?

Normally, Yuuri doesn’t read much beyond news articles, and maybe an interesting biography here and there, but reading _is_ a nice, quiet, indoor activity that _won’t_ result in him embarrassing himself in front of anyone. The library it is.

The library is elegant and luxurious, filled with comfortable couches and chairs, long, grand tables, and more books than Yuuri could ever read in his entire life..

He stumbles around in a bit of a daze, but he does a double-take when he sees a figure alone with a book in the corner.

“Count,” Yuuri says, the name falling from his lips before he can think better of it.

“Eros,” the Count greets, not even looking up from his book. He sounds tired.

“I, uh, thought you would go sleep or something,” Yuuri says hesitantly. The Count really doesn’t look like he feels that well. 

“I don’t feel like sleeping,” the Count says, flipping a page. “Besides, this is how I relax.”

Yuuri could point out that he doesn’t appear to be relaxed at all, but what would be the point? He’d just be bothering the Count even more.

“... Are you okay?” Yuuri asks. He has to ask. The Count is probably _not_ okay, and the Count will probably _not_ tell Yuuri what’s wrong, but Yuuri would feel wrong if he didn’t say anything at all.

This question, at least, gets the Count to look at him.

“Why do you ask?” the Count asks, his face carefully blank.

“Because you look… sad? Angry? I don’t know, just… unhappy,” Yuuri says, gesturing vaguely. “And I… I don’t like seeing you unhappy.”

“My apologies,” the Count says with a sigh. He closes his eyes briefly, and when he opens them again, he’s got a perfect replica of Viktor Nikiforov’s movie-promo smile painted on his face (it would be an impressive display if Yuuri weren’t so alarmingly aware of its insincerity). “I’ll try to hide it better,” he says.

What?

“What?” Yuuri asks out loud, because even after thinking about it for a moment, that statement makes no sense.

“I’ll try to hide my irritation,” the Count explains, “so you don’t have to look at it.” He says it lightly, like it’s a joke, and yet there’s an edge to it that Yuuri doesn’t quite like.

“That— That’s not what I meant!” Yuuri exclaims. “I meant that I don’t like that you _feel_ upset, because it… it’s unpleasant to feel like that… but I don’t want you to hide your feelings!”

The Count tilts his head.

“Okay,” he says slowly. “Then what _do_ you want?”

“I want you to be yourself!” Yuuri says. “I know this is a costume party, but, putting on a costume isn’t supposed to make you a different person!”

The Count is silent for a moment, and then his fake smile morphs into something softer.

“That’s the kind of conviction I want to see from you all the time,” he says. “When I you look like this, I can’t help but believe you.”

Yuuri isn’t sure what to say to that, so he just smiles.

“Uh… Is it okay if I sit down?” Yuuri asks. “I can leave you alone if you want, though. I mean… Just tell me…”

The Count pats the spot beside him on the couch.

“You’re probably the only person I don’t want to leave me alone right now,” he says. “But that’s enough about me. I assume you came to the library to read, not to visit me.”

“I have no idea what to look for, though,” Yuuri admits. “I’m not much of a reader. I don’t even know where to begin in a library this large.”

“What kind of books do you like?” the Count asks. “I bet I can find something for you. I’ve read a lot of books over the years.”

In the end, the Count picks out a time travel sci-fi/romance story because, and Yuuri is quoting him directly here, “if they ever adapted this one into a movie, Viktor Nikiforov would play the love interest.”

The book definitely isn’t what Yuuri would usually read, but the Count obviously has good taste, because Yuuri can’t put it down. The two of them spend the rest of the day reading. The announcement of dinner being ready is the only thing that draws Yuuri away.

“Uh… thank you,” Yuuri says, blushing slightly as he stands up to leave.

“What for?” the Count asks, looking up from his own nearly-finished book.

“For letting me stay with you. I know I probably shouldn’t have bothered you in the first place—”

“Don’t say that,” the Count interrupts. “In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m glad you found me. Your presence was… comforting,” he says. “I could definitely get used to it.”

“I think I could get used to it, too,” Yuuri admits.

The Count smiles at him warmly.

What Yuuri doesn’t mention is that he very much _wants_ to get used to it.


	6. Chapter 6

Maybe it’s just because reading with the Count put him in good cheer, but Yuuri feels optimistic when he wakes up the next morning. Sure, yesterday’s task wasn’t great, but he has faith in Viktor. Today’s task will be better.

He’s still in a good mood when Viktor’s announcement plays.

“Good morning,” Viktor says. His voice sounds even more strained than usual. “So some people apparently take issue with not being able to skip the task without gaining points.”

What? People want to skip the tasks?

Okay, that actually makes a little sense, but… They want to skip the tasks _and_ gain points? The points you earn for completing tasks? Is Yuuri missing something here?

“While I can’t allow anyone to get the same or more points from skipping than someone would from actually completing a task, I have come up with a… compromise. Whether you make use of it is up to you,” Viktor continues. “People have complained about the clues being too ‘strange’ so today you will have no clue. Instead, the terms of the task will be plainly outlined. Head to your team room for instructions. That is all.”

Yuuri shivers slightly. Viktor’s voice was perfectly polite, but there was no feeling in it.

He spares an angry thought for whoever keeps bothering him about the tasks. Do they not understand that they’re upsetting him?

Yuuri tries to shrug off his deflated spirits as he heads to the team room, but he’s still in a bit of a mood when he arrives.

Yuri is the only one there, but unlike the day of the first task, he doesn’t start yelling at Yuuri.

“You look fucking pissed,” Yuri says instead. “You should glare like that more often. It’ll intimidate your enemies.”

“I’m not glaring,” Yuuri says flatly.

Yuri snorts.

Yuuri is saved from further conversation by the Count’s arrival. He runs in so quickly that his cape flutters behind him and almost catches in the door, but he makes a quick save.

“Sorry I’m late, but we can st— Wait, where’s Mr. Bandages?”

“I… I don’t know,” Yuuri says. “You didn’t pass him in the halls or anything?”

“I was moving rather quickly,” the Count says with a frown, “but I’m sure I would have noticed him if he had been there.”

“Oh, great. Who know how long we’ll have to wait?” Yuri groans.

The answer, it turns out, is not long. Mr. Bandages stumbles into the room a few minutes later, but, well… he literally stumbles.

“Whoa, you look like death!” Yuri exclaims, stepping away.

“I’m fine,” Mr. Bandages moans, not sounding fine at all.

The Count places a hand on his shoulder.

“Perhaps you should go back to bed, my friend,” he says gently. “The game isn’t more important than your health.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine,” Mr. Bandages insists, staggering into a chair. “I know how much this means to you. I can pull through.”

Before anyone can protest further, a man enters the room, bringing with him the instructions for the task.

“Today’s task is extra hard to make up for the chance to skip the game and still earn points. It’s—”

The man is interrupted by Yuri slamming his hands on the table.

“Viktor, you petty asshole!” he shouts. “‘Extra hard’ means it’s impossible! Nobody’s going to do it if they can just skip it!”

“Why don’t you listen to the instructions before you start hissing like an angry kitten,” the Count says, holding a hand to his temple. “I don’t really want to hear this today.”

“Actually,” the man with the instructions cuts in, “there _is_ a way to skip the task, but I doubt anyone would try it. It’s a luck-based game and losing means you forfeit not only this task’s points but yesterday’s as well. There’s only a 1% chance of success and—”

“We’ll do it,” Yuuri says.

For a second, nobody speaks. Then—

“What?” Yuri screeches.

“Isn’t that a little too risky?” Mr. Bandages asks.

“I don’t think you understand. Maybe I should explain again,” the man with the instructions says.

Even the Count is hesitant.

“Maybe we should see what the task is like before you make a decision,” he says.

Oh. Maybe Yuuri jumped ahead a bit too quickly.

“The task requires the four of you to collect certain objects from around the mansion—” the instructions man explains.

“That doesn’t sound so bad…” Mr. Bandages says warily.

“—’s estate. The mansion’s estate,” the instructions man finishes.

“Ah,” Mr. Bandages says, nodding.

“The whole estate. All of it,” Yuri says incredulously.

“Yes, and the servants are not allowed to speak to you during this time. This task has a time limit of one hour, and the rooms the items are located in are booby-trapped.”

“Holy shit,” Yuri says, inhaling sharply. “Someone crossed a line with Viktor. I didn’t even think that was possible.”

“Viktor has feelings, too,” Yuuri says defensively. “I think this task is… unfortunate for us… but I don’t blame him for creating it.”

In truth, there’s a small part of him that purrs in satisfaction at the thought of the people harassing Viktor getting their ironic just deserts in the form of an impossible task.

It’s just too bad that Yuuri’s team has no chance of completing it, either.

“Depending on where the items were, it might be possible…” the Count says quietly. “But it would take a lot of work, and I’m not sure Mr. Bandages could…”

“I can do it,” Mr. Bandages insists. “I’ll do it, just say the word.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m taking the luck game,” Yuuri says.

“Don’t be stupid, Eros,” Yuri argues. “It’s a 1% chance, and we’ll lose yesterday’s points too. If we just fail the impossible task, we’ll only forfeit today’s.”

It’s a fair point, but Yuuri’s already made up his mind. He’s gotten where he is in life by taking risks (even if most of them have led to embarrassing failures), and in any case, it’s clear that the only possible way they can win any points today is to do the luck task.

Normally, Yuuri’s luck is terrible, though. Maybe it’s time for the universe to give him a break. Most probably, though, he’ll fail horribly.

“I’ll follow our leader,” the Count says. “But even I have to admit that I’m hesitant. Viktor obviously didn’t mean for anyone to choose this option.”

“Viktor likes surprises,” Yuuri argues, causing the Count to laugh.

“You’re right,” the Count admits.”He’ll be delighted”

“Do the rest of us not get a vote?” Yuri demands. “You can’t just decide—”

“What’s your vote, Mr. Wolf?” Yuuri asks with a thin smile. “An impossible quest that we’ll certainly fail, or a chance, albeit a slight one, to win?”

Yuuri is sure that Yuri will choose the latter because Yuuri’s noticed that, fundamentally, the two of them have very similar mindsets about winning. And sure enough, Yuri thinks about it for a moment and then scowls.

“Fine, have it your way,” he mutters.

“I can see that I would be outvoted either way,” Mr. Bandages says, “but for what it’s worth, I don’t object to the luck game. We’ve been getting full points on everything up until now. Even if we lose yesterday’s points, we won’t be out of the running.”

With that decision settled, the instructions man pulls out a small device and sets it on the table in front of Yuuri.

“This machine will generate a number from 1 to 100. If you guess the right number, your team gets five points,” the man explains.

“Okay,” Yuuri says, taking a deep breath.

“What’s your number?” the man asks.

It’s difficult to choose something so arbitrary… so he chooses the first number that pops into his head.

“89,” Yuuri says. It’s the year Viktor was born, 1989.

The man starts the device, which makes a high-pitched beeping sound, and then…

“I don’t believe it,” the man says, giving the screen a double take.

“What happened?” Yuri asks, pushing himself over to look at the device himself. “Holy fuck, look at this,” he says, yanking it away from the man in order to show the rest of the team.

“It chose my number…” Yuuri breathes. That’s so unlikely that he can’t believe he isn’t dreaming right now, but he looks again, and “89” is still there.

“Wow!” the Count exclaims. “Eros, are you the god of luck, too?”

“What? No, no,” Yuuri says with a laugh. “I… I can’t believe this is actually happening, honestly. Are you sure you pressed the right buttons?”

“Hey, don’t jinx it!” Yuri complains. “Of course he did. And now we get our 5 points, right?”

“Yes,” the instructions man says. “Today’s task is over for you. I’ll take my leave.”

The man gathers his things and leaves, and for a moment, nobody speaks. Yuuri’s pretty sure he could sit there, stunned, forever and still never get over what just happened, but fortunately, the Count breaks the silence.

“Just how did you get sick, anyway?” he asks Mr. Bandages. “You were just fine yesterday.”

Mr. Bandages blushes uncharacteristically (or is he just flushed from illness?) and mutters something inaudible.

“Could you repeat that?” the Count asks, his lips twitching upwards in amusement.

“I said I kissed a man with a cold,” Mr. Bandages says. “In my defense, I didn’t know he was sick. He’d taken some kind of decongestant and sounded fine.”

“Well, maybe he’ll share some of that medicine with you. He’s already shared everything else,” the Count jokes. At Mr. Bandages pointed look, he raises his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. I’ll get you the extra strength Tylenol. Don’t look at me like that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am a gracious and forgiving person,” Mr. Bandages says with mock innocence. “Am I looking at you strangely? Must be the fever.”

“Oh my god, you have a fever?” Yuri groans. “Go the fuck back to bed already. The task is over.”

“Uh, yes, please get some rest,” Yuuri agrees. “I hope you feel better.”

“Thanks,” Mr. Bandages says as he leaves. “Oh, and Count, I wouldn’t say no to some nice, hot soup with that Tylenol… And maybe a massage...”

“Don’t push it,” the Count says, chuckling. 

Mr. Bandages laughs as well, but it quickly turns into a cough.

“Yeah, okay, I’m going,” he says, giving them all a short wave before he shuts the door behind him.

“Uh… Speaking of food…” Yuuri speaks up hesitantly. The mention of soup has gotten his stomach rumbling, and it’s only now that he remembers something important. “They didn’t give us breakfast today…”

“Shit, they didn’t,” Yuri says, his eyes widening. “What kind of stupid punishment—”

“It’s probably because we didn’t do Viktor’s intended task,” the Count interrupts. “I’m sure everybody else got to eat before they took off looking around the estate.”

“Yeah, doesn’t really help us, though,” Yuri grumbles.

“Well…” the Count says after a pause. “You could probably ask one of the staff to provide something, or get something from the pantry, or—”

“There’s a pantry?” Yuuri asks excitedly. “Where?”

“It’s…” the Count starts, frowning. “I’ll just show you.”

Yuuri and Yuri follow the Count until they reach a large set of double doors. The Count opens them to reveal a pristine white kitchen. A few staff members mill about, and the Count goes up to one of them.

“Could you send up some soup to Mr. Bandages?” he asks politely. “He’s feeling unwell today.”

At the server’s nod, he returns to Yuuri and Yuri.

“Anything you two need before I leave?” he asks with a smile.

“No. Go away and let us eat,” Yuri growls, though there’s no real heat to his words.

“Wait, uh, are you going to the library?” Yuuri asks. “Because I could use directions…”

The Count sighs.

“I’m actually not,” he says. “And with the scavenger hunt going on, people will be traipsing through it all the time, so it’s not the best place to read right now, anyway.”

“Oh…” Yuuri murmurs. That’s a good point, but if Yuuri can’t go to the library, he isn’t sure what he’s going to do.

“I am going into town, though, if you want to come?” the Count suggests.

“I thought we weren’t allowed to…?” Yuuri says, looking up at the Count in confusion.

“Uh… No, that’s never been a rule,” the Count says quickly. “We’ll have to stay in costume if we leave together, but…”

“Fuck yeah, let’s get out of here,” Yuri says.

The Count makes a small choking noise, but he recovers quickly.

“Oh, Mr. Wolf… You… really want to come, too?” he asks with a laugh. “And here I thought you wanted me to leave you alone.”

“Uh-uh, you owe me _big_ time,” Yuri says, pointing an accusatory finger at the Count. “The least you can do is take me out.”

“... Fine,” the Count says. “Eros, I can understand if you don’t want to come, but I really—”

“What? Of course I want to come,” Yuuri says. Sure, Yuri will be there, but he’s in a pretty good mood, so Yuuri doesn’t think anything bad will happen. Plus, how else is he supposed to spend time with the Count? “Let’s go by the bakery again. We can share another cake.”

“Okay,” the Count agrees, his smile widening. “Okay, wonderful!”

“But are you sure the staff will let us leave?” Yuuri continues, unable to stop himself from worrying. “Viktor’s been in a… bad mood… lately, so he might get angry if we try… And we already circumvented his task today…”

“Oh, no need to worry about that!” the Count says cheerfully. “I’m a master negotiator, after all! They’ll let us go!”

Yuri snorts, but he doesn’t say anything. Yuuri takes that to mean he doesn’t object.

“We just have to find someone to take us,” the Count continues. “Should be easy.”

He leaves the room to make arrangements, but apparently it’s not as easy as he expects, because even after Yuuri and Yuri have finished eating and have caught up with him, he seems to still be in the middle of an argument.

“Sir, I really don’t know if I’m allowed to do that,” one of the servants says. “Mr. Nikiforov was ver—”

The sudden appearance of a butler interrupts the conversation.

“It’s alright. Mr. Nikiforov has given permission for these three to leave the grounds,” the butler says.

Gosh, Viktor sure works fast. Was he watching them the whole time? Is he always watching? (And oh, god, how many stupid things has Yuuri done when he’s been alone? Hopefully Viktor didn’t see any of _that._ )

“... In that case, I’ll see to it right away. Please follow me,” the servant says.

Yuuri falls into step with the Count, while Yuri, ever impatient, pushes very slightly ahead of them. The servant leads them through many corridors before they come to one of the underground parking bays.

After a short argument (prompted by Yuri) about who would sit where (it ends up being Yuri in the passenger seat, with Yuuri and the Count in the back), the three of them are on their way. They have a lively discussion of baking. Yuri, as it said on his skill sheet, is apparently an excellent cook. Yuuri, having grown up at an onsen, can certainly make edible food, even if it’s not as good as what his parents make. The Count, on the other hand, apparently has never had time to learn, even though he’d like to, but he says it isn’t a problem because he can afford to have whatever he wants catered.

“That isn’t the same, though,” Yuuri protests. “When you make it yourself, it’s… I don’t know, more rewarding.”

“Maybe you can teach me sometime,” the Count says, and with the way he’s looking at him, Yuuri can only agree.

As soon as they arrive in town, they head straight for the bakery. Just like before, it’s packed with people.

“Does business ever slow down?” Yuuri mutters to himself.

“I can get through,” Yuri says, straightening his back like it’s going to make him bigger.

“Let me handle it today,” the Count says. “It will be quicker.”

He enters, leaving Yuuri and Yuri to wait outside.

“I could have done it,” Yuri says, huffing.

“I did it two days ago,” Yuuri tells him. “And I’m not keen on doing it again. Those people are ruthless.”

“Wimp,” Yuri accuses with a snort.

They don’t have much time to chat, though, because the Count comes out only a few minutes later with a bag clutched to his chest.

“How did you manage to do that so quickly?” Yuuri asks, just the slightest bit awed. 

“Charm,” the Count says, puffing out his chest slightly. “It’s a talent.”

“You really have to do this here? Right in front of my pastries?” Yuri complains, snatching the bag of baked goods away from the Count. “Let’s hurry up and find somewhere to eat these before they get all cold and gross.”

“We can go to the beach—” the Count starts, but Yuuri interrupts him.

“Actually, I was hoping to go to the shopping center to buy a gift for a friend of mine. Would you mind if we ate on the way?”

It’s not that he doesn’t want to go back to the beach with the Count, but Yuuri really does feel like he should try to get something for Phichit, especially after completely forgetting about him during the rest day…

“Yeah, let’s go to the shopping center!” Yuri says excitedly. “Americans sell fucking awesome clothes.”

“Okay, no problem,” the Count agrees. “Eros, you can tell me about this friend of yours, and I can help you search. I know Mr. Wolf doesn’t want my help.”

“No, I don’t,” Yuri agrees.

“Well, _I_ appreciate the help,” Yuuri says. “My friend, um, let’s see… He likes skating, and musicals… Musicals about skating…”

“So, _The King and the Skater,_ ” the Count says with a laugh. “I love that one, too! Skating and musicals are some of my favorite things.”

“You’d love my friend, then,” Yuuri says, chuckling. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of “Shall We Skate.” Sometimes I think he was actually singing in his sleep!”

“Oh!” The Count’s voice turns strained. “Do you live with this friend? That’s… nice…”

Oh god, does the Count think he’s dating Phichit? The Count totally thinks he’s dating Phichit.

“We go to the same University,” Yuuri says quickly. “Or, we did before I graduated, but… We’re best friends, and… uh, coworkers, kind of. Our arrangement works well because neither of us have significant others, but, uh, I’m sure one of us is eventually going to have to move out… I mean, assuming we don’t stay single forever…”

“Ah, well, it’s wonderful that you two are staying close,” the Count says, sounding relieved. “Hopefully whoever ends up dating you gets along with him, huh?”

“Yes, that would definitely be a requirement,” Yuuri says in amusement.

“I see! So, tell me more about what he likes,” the Count presses. “I want to help you pick out the perfect gift for him.”

They spend several hours at the shopping center. Yuri ends up buying a couple of tiger-print sweatshirts, while Yuuri and the Count eventually decide on getting Phichit a copy of the Phantom of the Opera.

“Since he couldn’t come and see Viktor dress up as the Phantom,” the Count suggests cheerfully.

“It’s not quite the same, but I like your thinking,” Yuuri says with a laugh, but then he pauses. “Oh… but now I’m disappointed that Viktor _isn’t_ starring in this one.”

“Viktor’s never actually done a musical before,” the Count says. “You think he could actually pull it off?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course he could!” Yuuri insists. “I’d sell my soul to hear him sing!”

The Count laughs.

“I would sing for you free of charge,” he says. 

And then, after a breath, he does.

“Sing once again with me our strange duet~ My power over you grows stronger yet~”

His voice is smooth and deep, and Yuuri feels like he’s being drawn closer, almost as though the Count really is exerting a power over him.

“Incredible,” he breathes. 

It’s probably for the best that Yuri interrupts them at that point, because otherwise Yuuri might have literally lost himself in the Count’s eyes.

In any case, he and Yuri carry their purchases outside, and it’s only when they start making their way to where the car will pick them up that Yuuri realizes something.

“Count, you didn’t get anything,” he says with a hint of guilt. “Did I take up all of your time? I—”

“No,” the Count says, smiling. “I got exactly what I wanted.”

“You wanted to be stuck following me around and suggesting gift ideas like… like some kind of personal assistant?” Yuuri asks incredulously. “You deserve better than that. I’m sorry…”

“All I wanted was to get away from the mansion,” the Count says. “And getting to spend time with you was the icing on the cake.”

“Oh, uh… Well, I liked getting to spend time with you, too,” Yuuri confesses. “But maybe next time we can do something where I’m not just dragging you around after me.”

“Next time,” the Count agrees.

They both smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's mentioned in one of the side stories to the original Halloween Otome, but since it never comes up here in the fic, I'll just tell you - that luck game was totally rigged. It would have shown whatever number the person said. It's just that Yuuri was the only one brave (or at least, risk-accepting) enough to go for it. Viktor is very pleasantly surprised.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuuri is only just blinking awake the next morning when Viktor’s announcement plays.

“Good morning, everyone~” Viktor’s voice rings out. He sounds like he’s actually in good spirits today. “I’m sure everyone enjoyed yesterday’s task~”

Or maybe his spite’s just been sated.

“Now, after all that running around, I’m sure you’d all like some time to rest and recuperate,” Viktor continues. “I’m giving you not one, but two rest days~ That’s right! Take today and tomorrow off~ Have fun~”

… In that case, Yuuri is going to go back to bed.

He spends most of the morning like that, but by mid-afternoon, Yuuri decides it’s really time that he call Phichit. The Count’s not here to distract him this time! No excuses!

Phichit, never more than five feet from his phone, picks up almost immediately.

“Uh… Hi, Phichit… It’s Yuuri… Uh…” Yuuri hates making calls. Even when it’s Phichit, it’s still awkward.

“Yuuri, oh my god, tell me everything!” Phichit exclaims without preamble. “Have you been busy? Have you seduced Viktor Nikiforov yet? Have you made any friends? Are you having fun?”

“Uh… Yes, of course not, kind of, and I think so…” Yuuri replies, trying to keep the questions straight. “Let’s see, uh… Oh! You’re not going to believe this, but we were all put in groups as part of this game we’re playing, and Phichit, it’s ridiculous, but guess who’s in mine?”

“Viktor Nikiforov?” Phichit suggests.

“Vic— No, Phichit, he’s the host!” Yuuri says with a laugh. “No, it’s even more surprising. You won’t guess. God, even I can’t believe it sometimes. It’s Yuri Plisetsky!”

“The Russian skater?” Phichit asks. “What are the odds?”

“Yeah, and even more surprising is that we’re actually getting along,” Yuuri says. “Well, I guess it’s because he doesn’t recognize me. Or if he does, he hasn’t said anything about it.”

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? To stay under the radar?” Phichit chuckles. “So, besides him, have you been hanging out with anyone else?”

“Uh…” Yuuri hesitates. “My other teammates are nice. There’s Mr. Bandages, who’s a mummy, and then there’s…”

“There’s?” Phichit prompts.

“The Count. He’s a, uh, vampire. Like, from _Midnight Whirlpool._ ”

“The Count, huh? Oh yeah, I know all about movie husband #3, Yuuri,” Phichit says a little too gleefully. “Is he as cute as you think the real one is?”

Yuuri hides his face in his hand. He expected this to happen, but it’s still embarrassing.

“He actually did a really good job with the costume,” Yuuri says instead of answering what Phichit really wants to know. “I mean, he’s rich—so rich that he paid for us to eat at an expensive restaurant without even looking at the check—so it probably wasn’t that hard for him… but it’s still pretty impressive. The details are perfect, I’m serious! He calls himself Viktor’s biggest fan, and he even recognized _my_ costume, Phichit!” he says excitedly. “He’s an actor, and he travels a lot, but he’s been in the area before—probably to come to Viktor’s parties, now that I think about it—and he sort of showed me around.”

“You sure seem to like this guy!” Phichit laughs. “I know you’re supposed to keep your identities secret, but come on, everyone there is famous! Don’t you have any idea who he is?”

Yuuri frowns.

“Uh… no…” Yuuri mutters. “I… I really only keep up with the things Viktor stars in, you know, so I’m probably missing a lot. Really, the only person I’ve recognized so far is Yuri.”

“Well, _I_ keep up with pop culture,” Phichit says cheerfully. “Why don’t you describe him a little more and see if I can figure it out.”

“Okay…” Yuuri agrees hesitantly. He tries to picture the Count as he looked that first rest day, when he wasn’t in costume. “Uh… He’s tall… He’s got strong muscles… And, oh, his eyes are so beautiful. They’re just like Viktor’s, except… You know how Viktor always looks like he’s far away? It’s the exact opposite of that. With the Count, you feel like he’s staring right into you.”

“So, he’s a tall guy with muscles and blue eyes,” Phichit says. “Yuuri, that describes a lot of actors! I need something more specific!”

“I’m sorry!” Yuuri groans. “He likes reading?”

“No, that won’t help,” Phichit says. “Can’t you— Uh-oh.”

“What’s wrong?” Yuuri asks quickly. “Phichit, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just that Ciao-Ciao’s here,” Phichit assures him. “He’s checking on me because I’m actually supposed to be on the ice right now. I’m really sorry, Yuuri, but I think I have to go.”

“No, no, it’s okay!” Yuuri says quickly. “You have a really good chance of making the Final this year, so don’t let me distract you. I’ll talk to you later,” Yuuri says, ending the call with a firm tap to his screen.

Yuuri occupies himself with the games on his phone for the rest of the evening and into the night, even long after he should have gone to sleep. He has no good reason, but he just can’t quite bring himself to go to bed.

The problem with staying up, though, is that sooner or later, dinner starts to wear off. And sure enough, 2 a.m. comes, and Yuuri is hungry.

Thank goodness Yuuri knows where the pantry is now. He slips his mask on, but he doesn’t bother changing into his full costume. He’ll only be out of his room for a minute, after all.

He feels a little awkward about using the mansion’s ingredients to make his midnight snack, but he figures it’s probably fine. There are no kitchen staff in there now, but when Yuuri had previously been in there with Yuri, they all basically ignored him, anyway. Nobody seemed to mind him taking food then, so surely they won’t be mad now? Nobody’s going to miss some leftovers, right? All the guests get served completely fresh food every day, anyway.

Yuuri’s so absorbed in picking out the ingredients he wants that he doesn’t even notice the doors opening behind him. It’s only when hears a chuckle behind him that he whirls around to see…

Oh, that is definitely Viktor Nikiforov. Phantom costume and all.

“I see you steal more than just hearts,” Viktor says from next to the entrance.

Yuuri gasps, and gapes, and feels his entire face heat up. Yuuri’s longtime idol is standing right here in front of him, and not only does Yuuri have his grubby little hands all over Viktor’s food, but he looks like he’s crawled out of a hole! He hasn’t even taken a shower today! He’s in his pajamas! He probably has bags under his eyes! This wasn’t supposed to happen!

“I’m so, so sorry! I’ll put it all back! I don’t know what I was thinking! Ahaha, I’ll just be going back to bed now! Sorry to bother you!” Yuuri exclaims in a single breath. 

“No need to go so soon,” Viktor says, casually leaning against the doorframe. “You can take whatever you like.”

Yuuri still absolutely feels like dying of shame, but at least Viktor’s kind enough to offer him a last meal. He grabs the nearest food item, a flaky croissant, and shoves it in his mouth. In the time it takes him to chew, he manages to come up with a coherent sentence to speak to Viktor.

“So, uh, what brings you down here so late at night?” Yuuri asks.

He never said it was a _good_ sentence, okay?

“I couldn’t sleep,” Viktor says. “The same as you, I assume?”

“Yeah,” Yuuri agrees. “I mean, I didn’t exactly try… I came out because I got hungry. Uh, are you hungry?” Immediately after asking, he slaps a hand to his forehead. “Of course you are. Why else would you come to the pantry, right? God, and here I am, just hogging your food… Uh, do you want me to make you something? I know I won’t be as good as one of your chefs, but I’m already here...”

“I won’t say no to some food if you’re offering,” Viktor says. “I’d be honored to eat with you, Yuuri.”

Yuuri promptly chokes on air. 

“You— You— You know who I am?” Yuuri splutters. 

“Of course. It’s my duty as host to be aware of everyone participating in my games,” Viktor says, shrugging. 

“So you know I’m nothing special, then,” Yuuri mutters. He should be happy that Viktor even knows his name, but he can’t help but feel a little bitter. Nobody wants to meet their idol as a failure, right?

“... I think you’re very special,” Viktor says after a pause. “This year’s event is much more interesting because of you.”

Viktor truly is the world’s best actor, because he sounds completely sincere despite the completely nonsensical nature of his words. Yuuri still feels a thrill go through him, even though he knows Viktor is just being polite. Yuuri knows he’s nothing special, but to hear Viktor Nikiforov tell him that he is… It’s like a dream.

The dream continues as Yuuri finishes cooking and lays out the food. Not only does Viktor eat with him, but he also compliments the food, and converses with Yuuri (well, okay, Viktor talks while Yuuri occasionally nods or hums in response, but honestly, Yuuri thinks he’s doing a decent job considering that Viktor is so close to him that it sets all of his nerves on fire).

Eventually, they finish their midnight meal. Yuuri has every intention of scurrying away in the darkness, but Viktor insists on walking him back to his room. Yuuri couldn’t say no if he wanted to.

Funnily enough, Viktor leads Yuuri down the exact same path that he had taken before with the Count (though, obviously, they have more distance between them… Why would _Viktor_ cling to Yuuri’s arm? Yuuri feels weird for expecting it), even though it’s the longer route to Yuuri’s room. Is there something better about this way that Yuuri doesn’t know? The only real difference, besides having to walk longer, is that they pass a few more paintings of Makkachin than they otherwise would, which, alright, Yuuri _can_ appreciate. But it’s a little awkward, because while Yuuri knows how to talk with the count, he has no idea what to say to Viktor. And with Viktor remaining quiet, too, it makes their walk down the hallways completely silent save for the echoes of their footsteps.

It’s almost a relief when they arrive at Yuuri’s door. At the same time, part of Yuuri aches at the thought of leaving. He, for whatever reason, has Viktor’s attention right now. What are the chances he’ll ever capture it again?

“Thank you,” Yuuri blurts out. “For tonight. For everything. It means a lot to me,” he says, because he’ll probably never have the chance again.

“It was my pleasure,” Viktor says. “Call on me again any time.”

His blue eyes sparkle in a way that seems familiar, but Yuuri can hardly think with that gaze directed at him, so he can’t even begin to place what movie he might have seen the expression in.

“Oh, ah, uh, good night!” Yuuri says quickly

“Good night,” Viktor says with a chuckle.

When Yuuri eventually falls asleep, he dreams of blue eyes.

(But when he comes to consciousness the next morning, he can’t, for the life of him, remember if they were supposed to be Viktor’s… or the Count’s.)


	8. Chapter 8

It’s a good thing that the next day is also a rest day, because Yuuri wakes up much later than usual. At least he feels somewhat rested.

He takes his time getting ready as he simultaneously tries to decide what to do. He doesn’t really feel like repeating yesterday’s reclusive activities, but he doesn’t want to go out to town by himself, either. 

In the end, he decides to go check on Mr. Bandages. Hopefully he’s feeling better after having yesterday to rest. The Count was supposed to bring him some medicine the other day, too, so he should at least be well enough to have visitors.

He finds the room quickly after asking one of the staff members to show him, but apparently Yuuri isn’t the only one with a thought to visit Mr. Bandages, because when Yuuri walks in, the Count is already standing next to the bed. Mr. Bandages’s eyes flicker away from his friend as Yuuri approaches.

“Eros, how delightful,” Mr Bandages purrs. He doesn’t seem to be coughing anymore, at least. “We were just talking about you.”

“Uh… you were?” Yuuri asks, blushing. 

“We were talking about the team,” the Count says, elbowing Mr. Bandages with what Yuuri really thinks is too much force. “We were discussing Mr. Wolf, too.”

As if saying the words had summoned him, Yuri suddenly bursts into the room.

“Oh, good, the rest of you idiots actually remembered to come see our sick teammate,” he says.

“Aw, were you worried about me, Mr. Wolf?” Mr. Bandages asks sweetly. “I knew your bark was worse than your bite.”

Yuri glares.

“This was a mistake,” he grumbles. Louder, he continues, “Since you’re obviously fine, I guess I’ll fucking leave. Three’s supposed to be a crowd, or something?”

“Oh, no, no,” Mr Bandages insists. “You should at least stay for lunch. I’m sure that the Count ordered much more than I could ever eat.”

Sure enough, when a waiter walks in a few minutes later, he wheels in a table filled with more food than any one person could finish on their own.

“I didn’t know what you wanted, so I thought you could pick!” the Count says cheerfully.

“It would be a waste if you didn’t finish it all…” Yuri mutters. “Fine, I guess I’ll help you eat it. Eros, get your piggy snout over here and help me.”

“Oh, uh… Is it alright if I join you, too, Mr. Bandages?” Yuuri asks. He’s itching for some breakfast… or lunch… or whatever this meal is… but he doesn’t want to just invite himself.

Mr. Bandages waves off his concern, though.

“Please, I love the company,” he says.

“You love being the center of attention, you mean,” the Count teases.

“You know me so well,” Mr. Bandages agrees.

The four of them take their time eating and chatting. Yuuri doesn’t eat all that much, since he did sort of have an extra meal before, and the Count only eats a little as well, saying that he had a large breakfast. Between Mr. Bandages and Yuri, though, most of the food ends up being consumed.

Shortly after they’ve finished eating, one of Viktor’s announcements plays.

“Good“day, everyone~ It is I, your host~” Viktor says cheerfully.

“Who else would it be?” Yuri snorts.

“People have been complaining about me making changes—changes they wanted, mind you—so I have come to a few decisions,” Viktor continues in the same overly cheerful tone.

“Petty,” Yuri drawls, snorting again.

“The next two days will be tasks like the original ones. There will no longer be the option of skipping them and receiving points,” Viktor says in a now serious tone. “There will then be a rest day, and two more tasks. The day after will be our grand masquerade ball and the winning team will then be announced.”

Viktor pauses, probably to let the words sink in, and then he continues.

“Those are my terms, and I promise they won’t be changed. Don’t worry; this problem will never come up again. That is all. Thank you.”

After the announcement ends, silence reigns for several seconds, and then the Count breaks it.

“There, aren’t you glad? No more skipping, and—”

“What the fuck?” Yuri asks. “That part at the end? Didn’t you— Did you?”

“Oh, right, I heard it, too,” the Count says, shrugging. “There’s nothing we can do about it, though, so—”

“It sounds like Viktor is making snap decisions again,” Mr. Bandages says, giving the Count a dark look.

“Am I... missing something?” Yuuri asks. “Didn’t Viktor just lay out the rules? He didn’t sound angry…”

“He said it would _never_ happen again,” Yuri shouts as if it explains everything.

“Something like this happens at every event Viktor’s ever held. He would only say it would never happen again if he didn’t intend to have any more,” Mr. Bandages explains.

“Well, there isn’t anything we can do!” the Count insists. “If he’s made up his mind, that’s it. We should just try to enjoy this last event, and—”

“Count, aren’t you worried about Viktor?” Yuuri interrupts. His stomach is aching at what Mr. Bandages has told him. “Viktor loves these events! I thought you were a fan; haven’t you seen his interviews? He must really be feeling terrible if he wants to stop having them!”

“Then let him do what he wants,” the Count says dismissively. “He’ll feel terrible either way, right?”

“You… You can’t mean that!” Yuuri says in horror. How can the Count be so flippant about something Mr. Bandages and Yuri are so concerned about?

But maybe this is all a misunderstanding. If only he could ask Viktor what he meant.

Wait… Viktor _had_ sort of given Yuuri permission to talk to him again, hadn’t he? That’s what “call on me” means… Normally, Yuuri would never actually bother Viktor, but in these circumstances… Well, it would save them all a lot of trouble, wouldn’t it, if they could just get an answer from Viktor himself?

Yuuri’s standing up and walking towards the door before he has a chance to second-guess this decision.

“Eros, where are you going?” the Count asks. _Now_ he sounds concerned.

“I’m going to go check on Viktor,” Yuuri says determinedly. 

Yuri’s soft exclamation of “Holy shit,” is the last thing Yuuri hears as he walks out into the hallway. It’s only a few minutes later, after he’s taken several turns and is now totally lost, that he realizes something important.

He has no idea where Viktor’s room is. And, at this point, he has no idea where _he_ is, either.

It takes another five minutes of stumbling around just for Yuuri to get back to a part of the mansion he recognizes, but from there… Unfortunately, he still has no idea where Viktor would be.

He’s about to seek out a staff member to lead him to Viktor, but in a twist of good fortune, he spots the man as he’s turning a corner.

“Oh, Viktor!’ Yuuri calls out. Viktor’s face, contorted in a frown, immediately brightens.

“Eros, there you are,” Viktor says. “I heard that you were looking for me, so I thought I’d meet you halfway.”

“Oh, you heard… That was fast,” Yuuri says, blinking in surprise. 

“Yes…” Viktor agrees. “I… certainly know how to move quickly.”

As Viktor comes closer, Yuuri catches sight of something on his shoulder. He squints at what he’s pretty sure is a tag, and… wait, is that a seam?

“You were in such a hurry that you put your cape on inside-out?” Yuuri blurts out.

Viktor’s mouth opens, but no sound comes out.

Yuuri mentally slaps himself in the forehead.

“I was just finishing lunch. I hadn’t gotten ready yet,” Viktor says with a laugh as he immediately fixes the problem.

“You didn’t rush for me, did you?” Yuuri asks incredulously. No, no, that can’t be right at all. “I, uh, I don’t know what you heard, but I wasn’t looking for you for anything urgent. Uh, not that it isn’t important! It is! I just wanted to ask you something, but if you’re busy…”

“No, I have time,” Viktor says. But he also pulls out a pocketwatch, and when he looks at it, he grimaces. “Except I’m actually supposed to be mingling with people right now, too. Can we walk and talk?”

“Uh… sure?” Yuuri agrees. At least he won’t get lost again if he’s following Viktor. 

Viktor leads him towards the mansion’s entrance hall, where, sure enough, people are milling about, probably agitated in anticipation of Viktor joining them.

Yuuri really shouldn’t have done this, but now that he’s started it, he needs to at least make it quick.

“Uh, about your announcement earlier… Some of us were wondering if it meant you were going to stop having events entirely, and we got worried, and, uh… This is really stupid, but if you could just tell me if that’s true…?”

Viktor stops at the top of the stairs.

“Oh, that!” he says with a laugh. “Yes, it’s true! I’ve been doing these events for so long that they’ve become boring and predictable. I thought I should quit while I’m ahead.”

“O-Oh…” Yuuri murmurs in surprise. He was sure it had to be a misunderstanding. He hadn’t expected Viktor to just come out and admit it. “I’m sorry, I just… I didn’t think you would end things like this…”

“Why not?” Viktor asks cheerfully, taking one step down. “Everything comes to an end eventually, and what’s the point of beating a dead horse? Nobody is having fun anymore.”

“ _I_ am!” Yuuri insists.

“I’m not talking about you,” Viktor says as he takes another step down. “I told you before that you’re special, didn’t I?” He laughs, and again, he takes another step.

“But I—” Yuuri starts, stepping forward. Unfortunately, he doesn’t consider that he’s at the top of a staircase. His foot slips, and the next thing Yuuri knows, he’s falling.

For an instant, everything seems to happen in slow motion, and Yuuri sees Viktor’s eyes widen.Warm arms wrap around his body, but Yuuri has no time to appreciate the situation. Viktor takes a step back to account for Yuuri’s momentum, but they’re still on the stairs, so the exact problem Yuuri had happens again: Viktor slips, and oh, now they’re _both_ falling.

Yuuri closes his eyes and braces himself for death. His only regret is that he’s going to take Viktor out with him.

...Only, he doesn’t die, of course. The staircase isn’t _that_ long. His face does, however, collide with a hard object, and Yuuri’s eyes fly open to see that he’s collided with… Viktor’s face.

For a moment, Yuuri forgets how to breathe, and also how to think, which is why he should be forgiven for the delay in removing himself from Viktor’s face.

“Are you okay, Eros?” Viktor asks in concern. “You don’t have any visible injuries…”

“I feel fine My jaw hurts a little from where I hit you, but I’m okay,” Yuuri says quickly. “Wait, but are you— Oh, no, I crushed you, didn’t I? I’m so sorry!”

“I wouldn’t say you _crushed_ me,” Viktor says with a chuckle. “Not to brag, but I’m quite strong. I am perfectly capable of supporting your entire weight.”

“Right, right, but I…” Yuuri shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I should have been watching where I was going.”

“And I shouldn’t have been descending the stairs mid-conversation,” Viktor says. “I’ll forgive you if you’ll forgive me?”

“Yeah,” Yuuri says, unable to keep a smile off his face. “No harm done.”

Viktor beams at him, and it’s only when the sounds of people murmuring around them grow louder that Yuuri realizes Viktor’s arms are still wrapped around him. 

Yuuri yelps and removes himself from Viktor immediately.

Viktor turns to his staff, and, loudly, so everybody eavesdropping can hear, he speaks.

“Please see to it that these stairs are redone... or maybe hire an exorcist,” he says,.winking. “That’s the fifth time I’ve almost fallen down them this month! There’s no way that’s normal!”

The staff members chorus their agreement before leaving. Before Yuuri can leave, though, a furious Yuri accosts him and Viktor.

“What the hell was that about?” He throws his hands up exasperatedly. “I shouldn’t have to deal with a bunch of klutzes! Viktor, you’d better be fucking fine, or you’re going to have some explaining to do… What about you, Eros, you moron? You’re the damn leader, so you can’t get injured or the whole team’s going to fall apart.”

“I’m okay, Mr. Wolf,” Yuuri says, smiling at the teenager’s overly aggressive concern. “My jaw hurts a little, but it’s nothing serious.”

“You should still get it checked out,” Viktor says. “There’s an onsite doctor who can look at it. Mr. Wolf, could you take him there?”

“Let me guess, you’ve realized how much you’ve fucked up and are going to go angst about it,” Yuri mutters. “But yeah, fine, I’ll take him.”

“Thank you,” Viktor says, and then, turning to Yuuri, he offers a smile. “We can continue our conversation later, Eros. For now, I’ll take my leave.”

Yuri rolls his eyes at Viktor’s back as he leaves, but a second later, he’s tugging Yuuri in the other direction.

“Just so you know, I’m going to kick you next time you do something stupid,” Yuri threatens. 

Yuuri doesn’t doubt it.

Eventually they make it to a set of doors. Yuri pushes his way in without preamble.

“Eros fell down the stairs!” he announces bluntly. The doctor practically trips over himself to get to Yuuri’s side. He relaxes a little when he sees that Yuuri hasn’t suffered any serious damage, but he still ushers Yuuri onto one of the beds.

“Where does it hurt? Did you hit your head?” the doctor demands.

“No, no. it’s just my jaw,” Yuuri replies.

“He fell and kissed Viktor,” Yuri adds before Yuuri can explain anything more.

The doctor’s eyes widen, and Yuuri’s eyes surely mirror him.

“Kissed?” Yuuri yelps. “ _Kissed?_ ”

“What else are you supposed to call it when your lips press together like that?” Yuri rolls his eyes.

“An accident!” Yuuri argues.

“Right…” the doctor says. “Well, it sounds like you weren’t hurt too badly. Still, to be on the safe side, you should probably stay here for a while.”

“That’s fair,” Yuuri says with a sigh. It’s not like he’s a stranger to overnight hospital stays. He’d much rather go back to his room, though.

“And you, Mr. Wolf, need to leave, unless you want me to look you over, too. Eros needs his rest,” the doctor insists.

Yuri scowls, but he shows himself out the door.

Yuuri feels awkward lying in bed with nothing to do, but the doctor ends up giving Yuuri a pill to help with the pain, and, fortunately, it also makes him sleepy. It isn’t long until he’s drifting off to slumber.

When he wakes up later that evening, the first thing he notices is that the Count is at his bedside, nose in a book.

“Count…” Yuuri whispers, his voice still thick with drowsiness.

“Eros!” the Count exclaims, immediately dropping his book. “You’re awake. How are you? Do you need the doctor?”

Yuuri shakes his head.

“No, I’m fine. The pain pill hasn’t worn off just yet,” he says. “Where is the doctor, by the way?”

“He went out to look for Viktor,” the Count says, chuckling. “Mr. Wolf mentioned that Viktor also fell down the stairs, and apparently the doctor felt motivated by professional duty to go check up on him.”

“I see…” Yuuri murmurs. Suddenly, his eyes widen.”Wait, you heard about that?”

“Gossip travels fast, and you were in front of a crowd,” the Count says. Leaning forward, he smirks. “I also heard you kissed Viktor. That must have been something.”

Yuuri bolts upright in his bed, his face flushing.

“A-Are you upset?” Yuuri asks worriedly. He isn’t quite sure what he and the Count actually have together, or if the Count even cares, but… Yuuri knows he would feel weird if the Count kissed someone else…

“Upset?” the Count asks. “Or do you mean jealous?” After a pause in which Yuuri can’t even begin to deny it, he chuckles. “Do you want me to be jealous?”

“No!” Yuuri exclaims. “That’s not— It wasn’t even— He caught my face with his face!”

“”I figured,” the Count says, smiling softly. “Eros, I can’t explain exactly how I feel about the matter, but…” He closes his eyes. “When I heard what people were saying, I wanted more than anything to kiss you.”

Yuuri’s breath hitches. So that’s where they are, then. They don’t even know each other’s names, but there’s undeniably something powerful between them. The Count wants to kiss him. And Yuuri wants that, too.

“Come here,” Yuuri murmurs, shifting closer to the Count. Slowly, so slowly, he wraps his arms around the Count’s neck and pulls him down. Their lips meet gently, very unlike Yuuri’s accidental slam into Viktor’s face, and for a moment, Yuuri loses himself in the feeling.

“Eros,” the Count breathes when they have to break away. He reaches out towards Yuuri’s cheek at the same time that his eyes flutter open.

“Uh, Count, I…” Yuuri starts. Insecurity bubbles up from within, and he has to turn his eyes downward. “I’m not going to say I don’t like Viktor at all, because I think you know that’s a lie. But… I like you even more. At first I thought it might just be because you look similar to him, but it’s not that… I didn’t tell you this, but I met Viktor last night. He was… different than usual. More real. He reminded me of you, actually. And that’s when I realized that I was comparing him to you a lot more than I ever compared you to him. It’s probably because… I feel closer to you.”

“Oh?” Viktor says. His eyes seem to dim even as his lips stretch into a blinding grin. “You like me more than Viktor? What an honor.”

Yuuri shakes his head.

“Please don’t do that,” Yuuri pleads. “Don’t put a mask on. I don’t understand why you do it...”

The Count pauses before he answers. The smile is still plastered on his face like it’s stuck there, but slowly, it begins to drop and he lets out a sigh.

“Sometimes,” he says quietly, “it’s easier to be someone you’re not than to be rejected for who you are.”

Yuuri’s brow furrows.

“But don’t you worry that they’ll just reject you later?” he asks. “I think I’d rather be rejected right away… Get it over with...”

The Count laughs humorlessly.

“The idea is that you keep acting forever,” he says, “so that you don’t get rejected at all.”

For a second, it looks like the Count might say more, but the moment is interrupted by the slamming of a door.

“Oh, good, you’re up,” the doctor says. He places a plate and a glass of water on the table next to Yuuri. “I want you to eat something, and if the pain comes back, you can take another pill. I have to go, but if you see Viktor Nikiforov, whatever you do, don’t let him leave the room.”

“Uh… What?” Yuuri asks. “Is something wrong with Viktor?”

“I wouldn’t know! I can’t find him anywhere!” the doctor exclaims. “It’s almost dinner, so I’m hoping he’ll show up to eat something, but honestly, how do you lose a person in his own mansion? Damn billionaires and their eccentricities…”

The doctor heads back out, once again leaving Yuuri alone with the Count, but now there’s a tension in the air that wasn’t there before.

The Count stands up.

“I should leave you to rest,” the Count says, though he doesn’t look like he wants to go. 

“Count...” Yuuri murmurs. “You don’t have to leave…”

“Unfortunately, I do,” the Count says, sighing heavily. “I promised Mr. Bandages that I would join him for dinner.”

“Oh…” Yuuri murmurs. “That’s… Yeah. He’s still in bed, isn’t he? Tell him I said hi.”

“He’s fine, at this point,” the Count says, chuckling. “I don’t think he’d be surprised if I stayed with you, instead. But, I…” He closes his eyes. “I really have to go.”

Before he leaves, he reaches out for Yuuri’s hand. He cradles it in his own for several seconds before he presses a kiss to it.

“See you tomorrow, Eros,” he says softly, and then Yuuri is on his own.

Yuuri eats the dinner the doctor left for him. His jaw is just the slightest bit sore when he chews, but he doesn’t feel like he needs to take another pill. In fact, he really feels well enough to go back to his room. Unfortunately, the doctor still hasn’t returned, so Yuuri has to wait.

As he scours the room for something to entertain him, he catches sight of a book on the floor. The Count must have forgotten to take it when he left. With a burst of fondness, Yuuri picks it up. The title is in French, but the words are obvious enough: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, The Phantom of the Opera.

Yuuri flips through the novel, but as all the words are in French, Yuuri can’t very well read it. Interestingly, the Count seems to have left notes in it. They’re in French, too, but even though Yuuri doesn’t know what they say, there’s something nice about seeing the Count’s thoughts written out like this.

And he’s written a lot. Yuuri definitely has to remember to give the book back. The Count’s written another novel’s worth of notes in the margins, and it would surely be a tragedy to lose all those words.

Yuuri passes the time studying the Count’s handwriting. When the doctor finally comes back, he gives Yuuri a quick check over before clearing him to leave, telling him to come back if his jaw starts feeling any worse.

Despite his medicine-induced nap earlier in the day, Yuuri still feels exhausted after the day’s events, so after a couple of hours of playing around on his phone (he’ll have to give it back to the staff tomorrow, after all, so he wants to get as much use out of it as he can), he heads to bed.

(He dreams that he’s falling again, but this time, both Viktor and the Count try to save him. This staircase, however, has no bottom, and all three of them plummet, endlessly, into nothingness.)


	9. Chapter 9

When Yuuri wakes up, his jaw, fortunately, is entirely free of pain. It’s what he expected—after all, he didn’t hit Viktor all that hard—but he’s still relieved that he won’t have to spend any more time with the doctor today.

Yuuri gets dressed just in time for Viktor’s morning announcement to play.

“Good morning~” Viktor greets. “I know some people are still… abuzz… over yesterday’s events, but I ask that everybody put that aside and focus on today’s task.”

Yuuri hopes that people will follow Viktor’s request. The last thing he needs is a bunch of costumed celebrities swarming him about yesterday’s accident.

“I think everyone will enjoy the scenery of today’s events, if not the task itself,” Viktor continues. “That’s right! Today’s tasks are all outdoor tasks~ One of my staff will lead you to your team’s starting point. That’s all. Good luck~”

It’s a good thing that Yuuri didn’t actually give himself any serious injuries with yesterday’s fall, or else outdoor tasks would be troublesome. As it is, though, he finds himself looking forward to whatever Viktor’s got planned for his team. It’s been a few days since Yuuri’s gotten any fresh air.

When Yuuri opens his door, a man is already standing there, waiting to lead him outside. Yuuri grabs the Count’s book on his way out, hugging it close to him as he follows the servant through several corridors. 

The second he steps outside, he’s hit with a blast of cold air. Apparently, it snowed last night. Yuuri shivers. Luckily, he’s comfortable with the cold, but he spares a thought for all the poor guests who aren’t used to spending time around ice. 

Yuuri follows the man to where the rest of his teammates are already waiting. The servant clears hands Yuuri an envelope, which Yuuri grabs with his free hand.

“This is your clue. Breakfast should be arriving shortly,” the servant says before he bows and leaves.

Moments later, another servants brings out a cart full of breakfast food.

Yuuri lets Mr. Bandages and Yuri go first, turning to the Count while he waits.

“Eros, how are you feeling today?” the Count asks. His eyes sweep over Yuuri’s body as though he expects Yuuri to have developed new injuries overnight.

“I’m much better. No pain at all,” Yuuri says with a smile. “The doctor actually let me go last night. And speaking of the doctor, I think you left something there,” he says, holding out the book.

“Oh! I didn’t even think about that,” the Count says with a gasp. “Thank you for holding onto it for me. It’s… an important book to me.”

“I thought it might be,” Yuuri says.

As soon as Mr. Bandages and Yuri have moved out of the way, Yuuri and the Count take their turn with the food. They all eat as quickly as they can; the food won’t stay warm very long with the current temperature.

Once they’ve finished, Yuuri pulls out the clue. A gust of wind nearly takes it away from him, but fortunately, he manages to keep a grip. He can only imagine how much Yuri would yell at him if he lost the clue before they could even begin the task.

“Find one standing tall and still. Find another of the same face and realize that nothing is identical,” Yuuri reads. “And, uh, there’s also a map with the clue.”

“What? Let me see!” Yuri demands, snatching the map out of Yuuri’s hands.

Immediately, the Count snatches it from Yuri.

“Look, this is the first year you’ve come to Viktor’s mansion. I can navigate better than you can,” the Count insists.

“What? No you can’t, asshole!” Yuri protests. “It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been here before; there’s a _map._ ”

“Why don’t we let Eros decide,” Mr. Bandages chimes in. “He’s the leader, after all.”

“Oh, uh…” Yuuri hesitates. “I think…”

Another cold gust blows, making Yuuri shiver. This is why he likes indoor ice rinks: no wind.

“I think it’s cold…” he mutters.

“You can always warm up in my arms,” the Count suggests, holding them out.

Yuuri stares.

The Count has _layers._ He really should share the heat.

“Okay,” Yuuri decides, wrapping his arms around the Count. The Count’s eyes widen in surprise, but then he clutches Yuuri tightly.

“I didn’t actually expect that to work,” he says, chuckling.

“You shouldn’t have offered if you didn’t want me to accept,” Yuuri says into the Count’s chest.

“Oh, but this is exactly what I wanted,” the Count assures him.

“Are you kidding me? You can’t stay like that the whole time!” Yuri shouts. “It’s going to slow us down way too much!”

“I don’t want Eros to be _cold,_ ” the Count whines. “Wait, I know!” He unlatches himself from Yuuri and takes a step back. In a smooth motion, he yanks his cape off. “You can wear this!”

“Ah, uh, okay,” Yuuri agrees, allowing the Count to wrap it around him. It’s not a very thick cape, but it certainly helps against the wind. The temperature is much more tolerable now.

“Ugh, can we just get on with the game already?” Yuri complains. 

“I agree. Eros may be warm, but some of us are out here in scraps,” Mr. Bandages says. “Even my inherent hotness can’t save me from the snow.”

“Uh, right, sorry,” Yuuri says, blushing. “I guess the Count can keep the map. I’ve never seen him get lost around the mansion, so he must be doing something right.”

“I won’t let you down,” the Count says happily. At the same time, Yuri grumbles something about biased judges and kicks some snow towards Yuuri.

After studying the map for a little while, the Count sets them off towards what he says should be a creek.

“There’s something marked over here. As long as we follow the creek, we should find it,” the Count explains.

Yuri pokes his head around the Count’s side.

“How do you know it’s a creek?” he asks irritably. “Maybe it’s a brook. Maybe it’s a stream.”

“Those are all the same thing and you know it,” the Count says without looking up.

When they reach the creek, or brook, or stream, or whatever it is they’re calling it now, they see that it’s completely frozen.

“I can’t believe Viktor would spend good money to freeze a tiny little creek like this,” Yuri says, but he doesn’t sound as annoyed as he was before. 

“Viktor… paid for this?” Yuuri asks.

“There’s no way this is natural. Even the trees have been stripped bare, and they were all fine yesterday,” Yuri explains. “He totally hired someone to set this up, but damn, talk about attention to detail…”

“Isn’t it lovely?” the Count asks, beaming. “I love the snow and ice. Everything looks so clean and fresh, like the world is getting ready for a new beginning.”

“I guess that’s true…” Yuuri says thoughtfully. “The winter sort of clears out things for spring.”

They continue to follow the creek upward, eventually coming across a statue… Wait, a statue of Makkachin?

“Another Makkachin puzzle? I’m getting deja vu,” Yuuri says, chuckling. He looks over at the Count, who has run over to hug the statue. 

“Makkachin looks so cute cast in bronze,” the Count coos. “Oh, I want at least twenty of them.”

“If this statue is what the clue refers to, you may get a second one,” Mr. Bandages points out.

“That’s right!” the Count exclaims. “Oh, I think this _is_ what we’re looking for. There’s an inscription here…”

He kneels down and begins reading something at the base of the statue.

“The twins they stood, side by side, and no one could tell them apart. And so they thought with lingering sadness - if others could not see what’s inside - they would have to change that on the outside,” the Count reads.

“On the outside? Is that why Makkachin is wearing clothes?” Mr. Bandages asks.

“I think I get it,” Yuuri says. “Somewhere there’s another statue of Makkachin. We’d have to see it to be completely sure, but it probably has different clothing and ornaments.”

“So just how are we supposed to find this other statue?” Yuri asks. “It’s not on the map, is it?”

“Wait a minute,” the Count says, scratching some snow off of the statue’s inscription. A small piece of paper falls into his hands.”There’s another map here.”

He tries to hand it off to Yuuri, but Yuuri just pushes it back towards him.

“It will be safest in your hands, Count,” he says.

The Count smiles.

After a few more moments of looking at the map, the Count leads the group off again.

A sudden gust of wind forces Yuuri to pull the Count’s cape closer. The next thing he knows, the Count is letting out an alarmed cry.

“What happened?” Yuuri asks worriedly. The Count is standing with one hand covering his eye.

“Nothing. It’s fine,” the Count says. “My contact fell out; that’s all. But I keep spares on me now, so it’s not a problem.”

“Oh… Are you really trying to put it in out here?” Yuuri asks. “Shouldn’t you wait until we get back to the mansion?”

“No, I need to fix it now,” the Count replies. “I don’t want people to see my true eye color.”

“But you weren’t wearing them the other day,” Yuuri points out. “And, besides, your eyes are… they’re, uh…”

“Illegal,” the Count suggests teasingly.

Yuuri blushes.

“I didn’t mean that,” he groans.

“I know what you meant,” the Count says with a laugh. At the same time, he presses his contact in, and his vibrant blue eye goes back to the unnatural red. “But you have to admit I’ve got… special eyes.”

“Okay, Dracula, your special eyes are fine, so can we get going?” Yuri complains as another gust of wind hits them. “It’s too cold to just hang around.”

“Says the one in fur,” Mr. Bandages remarks, rolling his eyes.

“I get it; I’m moving,” the Count says cheerfully.

Soon enough, they reach the spot marked on the new map. Instead of a statue, though, they come face-to-face with a man.

“Only one of you may proceed to the second statue,” he intones.

“And the others get to go back to the mansion?” Mr. Bandages asks hopefully. At the man’s nod, he continues. “I’m out.”

“It’s too windy out here, and I don’t even like dogs,” Yuri says. “I’m out, too.”

“Eros... you should go on,” the Count says. “You’re… the leader.”

“Don’t you want to see the Makkachin statue?” Yuuri asks.

The Count makes a strangled noise.

“It’s... fine,” the Count says. “You’re excellent at puzzles, Eros. Just… tell me how cute Makkachin looks, okay?”

“Okay,” Yuuri agrees, laughing. “I’ll see you all later. I’ll try not to take too long.”

Once the rest of his teammates have been led away, Yuuri moves forward into the clearing with the second Makkachin statue. It’s very similar to the previous one, though, like Yuuri expected, the accessories are slightly different. The scarf has two stripes instead of one, the socks are black instead of white, and there’s an extra ribbon on Makkachin’s head that wasn’t on the other statue. Yuuri points out these differences to the attendant standing nearby, and he gets his team five points as a reward.

The attendant leads Yuuri back to the team room, where the Count and Yuri are waiting.

“You did great!” the Count exclaims. 

Yuri rolls his eyes at the Count’s words, but he gives Yuuri a nod of acknowledgement.

“Thanks,” Yuuri says, smiling. “Count, you would have really liked it. Makkachin had a ribbon on his head.”

“A ribbon!” the Count gasps. “How sweet!”

Yuuri laughs lightly at the expression on the Count’s face.

“By the way, where’s Mr. Bandages?” Yuuri continues, glancing back at the door as if Mr. Bandages is going to suddenly appear. He does not.

“He said he was going to bed,” Yuri says, shrugging. “He’s probably trying not to get sick again.”

Yuuri hums in agreement. It would be a shame if Mr. Bandages recovered only to immediately sicken again.

“Poor Mr. Bandages…” the Count murmurs. “I’m sure Viktor planned this task long in advance of the event, but it’s unfortunate timing…”

“He was only wearing bandages…” Yuuri says, sighing. “Maybe you should have given your cape to him instead of me.” With a faint blush, he removes the Count’s cape from his shoulders. “Uh, you can have it back now, I guess.”

“But I wanted you to have it,” the Count insists as Yuuri pushes the cape into his arms. “In fact, you don’t need to give it back yet. You still feel cold…” 

The Count wraps his arms around Yuuri, holding the cape so that it blankets Yuuri’s shoulders. Between it and being pressed against the Count’s chest, Yuuri certainly _does_ feel warm.

“Thanks, but it’s okay,” Yuuri says even as he makes no effort to move. “I was actually thinking of taking a nap like Mr. Bandages. I don’t feel sick myself, but it’s the right weather for it…”

“Hmm, yes, it is,” the Count murmurs as he pulls away, taking his cape with him and reaffixing it to his own costume. “I wonder if I can get away with napping, too…”

“You can’t,” Yuri says with a snort. 

“Let me dream, will you?” the Count mutters.

In the end, Yuuri does stay a little longer with the Count and Yuri. The three of them eat lunch together, but by the late afternoon, Yuuri has returned to his room, and he does in fact take a surprisingly long nap. By the time he wakes up, it’s dark outside, though he still has several hours to kill until he could reasonably go to bed for the night.

Maybe it’s because he’s slept too long and is now restless, or maybe it’s just because ice always calls to him, but Yuuri decides to go outside. (He does, however, make sure to put on a coat this time.)

It’s a shame he doesn’t have skates with him, because all the water around Viktor’s estate has apparently been frozen completely solid. He wonders if Viktor has ever tried skating here. According to the map they’d been given earlier, the creek eventually flows into a pond at the edge of the property. If Yuuri had his skates, that’s definitely where he would go. 

As it is, he still finds himself at the creek. He follows it upwards almost without thinking, and before he knows it, he comes across the first Makkachin statue his team had come across during the task.

Yuuri kneels down, inspecting the inscription at the base of the statue. In the dark and without his glasses, Yuuri has to press his face close in order to read it. 

“If others could not see what’s inside... they would have to change that on the outside,” Yuuri reads as he brushes his fingers over the letters. The task was fun, and the Makkachin statues look cute, but… Something about the words leaves Yuuri with a sense of lingering sadness.

“Poor puppies. It’s such a lonely fate, being misunderstood,” the Count’s voice rings out suddenly, startling Yuuri. He hadn’t heard the Count approach… Or had the Count been there the whole time?

But as soon as Yuuri recovers from his surprise, he considers the Count’s words.

“So they changed themselves because they were lonely…” Yuuri says. “Do you think it was worth it?”

The Count comes closer to the statue, though he doesn’t kneel like Yuuri. Instead, he stretches his hand towards the statue’s ear, rubbing it as if it were a real poodle.

“Only they can decide that,” he says. “But… whether or not it was worth it, I think it must be very exhausting.”

“Count…” Yuuri murmurs. Recalling their conversation the previous evening, Yuuri doubts he’s thinking about poodles at all. “Someday they’ll find someone who can see inside them. Someone who will appreciate them for who they are.”

The Count turns to look at him. For a moment, he seems a little unfocused, but as Yuuri begins to stand up, his gaze sharpens.

“I think…” he says hesitantly, “they may already have.”

Yuuri and the Count stay by the statue for a while, pressing close together for warmth as the wind blows around them.

Their silence is broken by a soft gasp from the Count.

“Fireflies?” he breathes in awe.

And sure enough, now that Yuuri’s looking, he can see tiny lights hanging in the air around them, twinkling as they blink on and off.

“Pretty…” Yuuri says, smiling as he cups his hand around one. “I never knew Viktor had these on his property.”

“Neither did I…” the Count says. “I’ve never seen them in my… Er, in my time at the mansion.”

“Do you think Viktor brought them in?” Yuuri suggests.

“No…” the Count says with a quick shake of his head. “He wouldn’t have anyone to show them off to… Us being here is a coincidence…” He smiles at Yuuri. “A happy coincidence.”

Yuuri nods in agreement. It certainly is a beautiful sight, even if it’s something they were never meant to experience.

When a firefly lands on the Count’s shoulder, Yuuri can’t stifle a laugh. The Count is so stiff that you’d think he was the statue.

“I don’t want to hurt it!” the Count whisper-exclaims as Yuuri laughs.

“You can move around a little. It won’t get hurt, though it might fly off,” Yuuri says. “You’ve never been around them before, have you?”

“No…” the Count admits. “I’ve never had a reason to…”

“They’re all over Japan, so I got used to them growing up,” Yuuri says. “But… I’ve never felt the way I do right now.”

He flushes. The way he’s feeling right now is entirely due to the Count’s presence. And from the way the Count stretches out his hand to clutch Yuuri’s, he assumes the Count knows it.


	10. Chapter 10

When Yuuri wakes up the next morning, he’s surprised to see out his window that all of the snow has melted. Not only that, but save for the now leafless trees (Viktor didn’t hire anyone to glue leaves back on, evidently), it’s like there had never been any snow at all. The sky is a bright, cloudless blue, the sun shines warmly, and the grass looks fresh and green.

He’s still marveling over these changes when Viktor’s morning announcement plays.

“Good morning~ I think~” Viktor says happily.

He cuts off abruptly, and someone’s muffled voice can be heard in the background.

“Okay! It looks like everything is ready, and just in time!” Viktor continues. “Today we’ll have… A tournament of sorts. Teams will be pitted against each other in a random electronic lottery~ There will be three rounds worth a maximum of two points, followed by a fourth round worth four points! The leader may only participate in the final round. As for the others, choose wisely! Each player is only allowed to participate in a single round. One of my staff will lead you to the tournament area. Good luck!”

The announcement ends, and before Yuuri even has time to consider Viktor’s words, someone is knocking at his door. Yuuri follows the attendant outside to an open arena where the rest of the team is waiting.

“Eros! Good morning!” the Count greets happily. 

“Good morning,” Yuuri greets back, smiling. “What do you think of today’s game?”

“It’s—” the Count starts.

“Fucking awesome!” Yuri interrupts. “I’m going to kick everybody’s ass. No way we’re losing today!”

“Oh, but Mr. Wolf, didn’t you hear Viktor? You can only participate in one round,” Mr. Bandages says with a laugh.

Yuri glares, first at Mr. Bandages, and then at the Count. 

“Viktor’s stupid rules aside, we’re still going to crush the competition,” Yuri insists. “Eros, you’re going to make sure we crush the enemy, right?” 

Yuuri blinks in surprise.

“Uh, right…” he agrees. True, he hates losing, but he’s surprised that Yuri trusts him. (“Crushing the enemy” isn’t exactly how he would put it, but, well, he wouldn’t expect anything less from Yuri at this point.)

One of Viktor’s staff approaches them, informing them that they’re team 7 and handing them badges to prove it.

Once all the teams have their numbers, Viktor’s announcement tone plays out from the arena’s loudspeakers, drawing everyone’s attention to the center stage where the silver-haired man is standing.

“Welcome~” Viktor says, his voice blaring from the speakers. “Now that everyone has arrived and received their team numbers, we can get this show started! Please draw your attention to the electronic board.”

With a flourish, he gestures behind him.

“Teams will be randomly paired up to face each other in different activities,” Viktor continues, which will also be randomly decided.

The board begins flickering, showing team numbers and activities at random.

“The servants will direct you to each activity, as well as relay the rules to you,” Viktor says. “I believe that’s all. Good luck!”

Everyone waits in anticipation as the board begins pairing up team names and choosing activities.

“Splatter?” Yuuri reads, squinting to see the screen. “What kind of game is that?”

He was expecting games like football, or connect four, or pinball, or dance dance revolution, or something… familiar, at least.

“I’m not sure, but I’m glad it’s not ours,” the Count says with a grimace. “My costume is too expensive to get near anything related to splatter.”

“Doggy run,” Yuri snickers as he reads from the screen. “Too bad we didn’t get that one. It’s perfect for the Count.”

“Me? But you’re the one in the wolf suit!” the Count retorts. 

“Look, there’s our number,” Mr. Bandages interrupts before that argument can go anywhere. “We got… Statues…”

For a second, everyone is silent. 

“Statues?” Yuri scoffs. “How the hell do you _play_ statues?”

“Maybe… Maybe you sculpt them?” Yuuri suggests, although he has no idea, either. Maybe it has something to do with the Makkachin status from the previous day’s task?

“No,” a man says, stepping forward. “I’ll explain the rules, but please follow me to the game area so that I can speak to both teams at once.”

They all follow the attendant down to where the other team has already assembled. Mr. Bandages raises a hand to wave at one of the opponents, which makes Yuri furiously yank his hand back down.

“No fraternizing with the other team!” Yuri insists. “Focus!”

And then they do have to focus, because the attendant begins explaining the rules of the game.

“One member from each team must balance a ball on their head without it falling off and without the use of any other body parts to keep it there,” the attendant says. “We’ll start as soon as each team has chosen their player.”

Yuuri turns to the rest of his team.

“So, uh… I can’t play until the last round, so… Who wants to balance the ball?” he asks, glancing at each of his teammates in turn. The Count shakes his head, and Yuri looks like he’d like to sock a ball directly at the opponent’s face, but Mr. Bandages… Mr. Bandages just smirks.

“Let me do it,” Mr. Bandages says. “I’m _intimately_ familiar with balls of all sizes.”

Yuuri’s face feels like it’s on fire, and both Mr. Bandages and the Count dissolve into laughter.

Behind Yuuri, the attendant clears his throat.

“The other team has already made their selection, so if you could hurry it up…?” the attendant says impatiently.

Yuuri looks helplessly back at his team.

“In all seriousness, I’m a model,” Mr. Bandages says, finally taking pity on Yuuri. “I’ve had to balance harder things before.”

The Count lets out a giggle that he quickly turns into a cough.

“Okay, Mr. Bandages, we’re counting on you…” Yuuri says warily. He absolutely trusts the man to be able to balance a ball on his head in normal circumstances. He just doesn’t trust him and the Count to keep a straight face right now.

It gets worse, because the next words out of the servants mouth are:

“The remaining members of each team are free to try to distract those participating as long as no physical contact is involved.”

“Sounds fun~” the Count says cheerfully.

Yuri obviously does not agree, because he goes over and points his finger directly in the Count’s face.

“Listen you asshole, if you say anything to make him lose, I’ll—”

“Aww, look Mr. Bandages! Your puppy’s defending you!” a girl from the opposing team shouts.

This probably doesn’t have the effect she’d intended, because Mr. Bandages stays completely still and stone-faced.

Yuri, on the other hand…

“What did you just call me?” he yells. “Come here and say that to my face, you coward!”

“Ooh, listen to the puppy bark,” another girl giggles. “You wanna play fetch, baby? Tell your master to drop that ball for you.”

Yuri’s eyes blaze with a rage too large to contain, and the next thing out of his mouth is a barrage of Russian words that Yuuri can’t understand. (He assumes they’re all horrible insults, though.)

“Ladies, you’re mistaken,” the Count calls out. “Mr. Bandages isn’t the master type,” he says with a wink. “But if you want to play games, why don’t you come over this evening, and we can show you what a real workout looks like.”

“W-What?” Yuuri yelps in surprise. Logically, he knows that the Count is only saying this to rile the other team up, but… “Count, you can’t just offer things like that! What if someone thinks you’re serious?”

“Oh!” the Count exclaims, immediately running over to Yuuri’s side. “Hey, referee, can I touch my own team member?” he shouts.

“I’ll… allow it,” the referee says in confusion.

The Count wastes no time in wrapping himself around Yuuri’s arm, resting his head on his shoulder.

“Did you want to workout with us, too, Eros?” he asks teasingly. “Maybe… Cardio?”

“No,” Yuuri says, still a little irritated. “I wouldn’t want to crowd you all.”

The Count’s head shoots up off of Yuuri’s shoulder, and for a moment, he stares stares at Yuuri in confusion. His mouth hangs open like he’s forgotten how to speak.

Yuuri sighs. He knows he’s overreacting, and that he doesn’t have a monopoly on the Count even if they _did_ kiss. But to imply a… a threesome (Foursome? Fivesome? Yuuri’s a little confused about who all is invited here, probably because it’s _not really happening_ ) is so… so… 

Well, Yuuri doesn’t know exactly what to call it. But he doesn’t like it.

“Mr. Bandages, your team’s falling apart!” the opposing team’s leader calls. “Why don’t you call it quits already?”

Mr. Bandages doesn’t speak, doesn’t move, doesn’t even change his facial expression.

His opponent, however, doesn’t fare so well. He wobbles around, desperately trying to keep the ball on his head, but he can only keep that up for so long. The ball hits the ground with a thump, and just like that, Mr. Bandages wins.

“I… uh…” the referee clears his throat. “The winner of this game is team number 7. Congratulations, team number 7. You receive two points.”

Both teams head back to the main arena to wait for the other teams to finish. Every now and then, Yuri sends a fierce glare over towards the girls who called him a puppy. Unfortunately for Yuri, this just makes them giggle at him whenever they catch him.

Mr. Bandages, too, keeps shooting meaningful looks to where the other team is gathered, though it’s obvious that he’s just flirting with the man he had faced in the challenge.

Yuuri turns to the Count, figuring that they, at least, could have a spoken conversation, but no, the Count is already standing up to leave.

“I’m going to get something to drink,” the Count says in response to Yuuri’s quizzical look. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Get back here before round two or we’re leaving without you,” Yuri says, swiveling his head towards the Count for just an instant before he goes back to shooting death glares at the girls.

The Count nods as he leaves, not that Yuri can see it, and then Yuuri is left to his own devices.

Yuuri, having nothing else to do, watches as the board fills up with the results of the first competition. It doesn’t mean a whole lot to him, as he doesn’t know anyone outside of his teammates, and even if he did, he wouldn’t know what team they were on. Still, it’s something to do. Yuuri tries to imagine what kind of games everyone else is playing. Some of them must be difficult, if it’s taking them this long to finish.

Only a few results remain by the time the Count gets back.

“Did I miss anything?” the Count asks as he sits down next to Yuuri.

Yuuri shakes his head.

“Nothing task-related,” he says. “Although you did miss Mr. Wolf yelling in Russian again.”

“Oh, too bad. I could have translated for you,” the Count says, laughing. 

At that moment, the last score appears on the board, and Viktor’s announcement tone plays.

“And that’s the end of round one!” Viktor’s voice comes over the speakers. “Congratulations to the teams that won this round, but remember, this is only the beginning! Round two follows the same procedure as last time. Remember that the player chosen for the previous round cannot be chosen for this one. That is all. Good luck~”

This time, Yuuri’s team is paired with team 14.

“Aren’t they the ‘fitness’ nuts?” Yuri asks. “God, I hope we have a physical challenge. I want to kick some sense into them. An hour of yoga a day doesn’t make you athletes, morons!”

“I don’t think we’ll have any trouble beating anyone in a physical challenge,” the Count says. “What’s our activity called?”

“Armed forces,” Yuuri reads

“Oh, hell yes,” Yuri says. “Eros, you’d better pick me for this!”

“Uh… Maybe we should see what the game is, first?” Yuuri suggests. “For all we know, it could be a tactical strategy game.”

And no way would Yuuri let Yuri take charge for that. He imagines that Yuri would be likely to charge forward impatiently, which is exactly the kind of tactic that is likely to make you lose.

They follow the attendant out to an army-style obstacle course, where team 14 is already waiting for them.

“The rules are simple,” the attendant explains. “One person from each team must go through the obstacle course. Finishing it first results in two points. If you come in second with less than a minute difference, you’ll get one point. Anything else results in zero points. We’ll begin as soon as both teams have chosen their players.”

“I’m doing it,” Yuri insists before Yuuri can say anything.

Yuuri sighs. There’s no point in fighting, and in all honesty, Yuri looks more flexible than the Count, anyway.

“Yes, you’re the best suited,” Yuuri agrees.

“Listen, I’m not taking no for an answer—” Yuri starts before he realizes what Yuuri has said. “Oh. Right. Of course I’m the best suited.”

He follows the attendant to the start of the obstacle course. The other team’s representative is twice as large as Yuri, but in this case, it’s probably to Yuri’s advantage. The attendant fires a pistol into the air to signal the start, and both participants race out to the obstacles.

The first couple of obstacles involve climbing, and Yuri’s opponent pulls ahead slightly because of his more powerful arm muscles. But Yuri soon catches up, and in particular he gets ahead when his opponent gets tripped up over some hurdles that Yuri easily clears. In the end, despite the other man’s best efforts to recover, it’s Yuri who crosses the finish line first, nearly a minute and a half before his opponent.

“The winner of this game is team number 7. Congratulations team number 7. You receive two points,” the attendant announces.

Yuri makes his way back over to his team with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

“That was almost painfully easy,” he says, but he despite his words, he’s flushed with exhilaration.

“The height in your jumps was impressive,” Yuuri compliments. He knows how that translates on the ice. It’s one of the many things Yuuri struggles with himself.

“I know,” Yuri says, standing a little taller with pride. “Did you see that other guy? He had to climb over those stupid hurdles. He never stood a chance!”

The four of them make their way back to the main arena. Yuri’s in a good enough mood to not glare at the other team, and Mr. Bandages doesn’t feel the need to flirt with the other team this time, so instead, they all make idle chatter as they watch the board fill up with the other teams’ scores.

Just like before, Viktor’s announcement tone plays just as the final results come in.

“And that’s the end of round two!” Viktor’s voice comes over the speakers. “Congratulations to the teams that won this round~ Round three follows the same procedure as the previous two, and seeing as your leader only participates in the last round and no member participates twice, you should already know who will be playing this time. Good luck to you~ That is all. Enjoy~”

The screen pairs up the teams again, and this time, Yuuri’s team gets paired up with team 17.

“I’ve never seen them,” Yuri says, crossing his arms. “How am I supposed to know if they suck or not?”

“Well, Mr. Wolf, maybe if you were a little more social, you would know them,” the Count says.

“Social,” Yuri says flatly.

“Yes, social. I know this is an unfamiliar place to you, but if you tried talking to people you might like—”

“No, idiot,” Yuri interrupts. “I’m talking about our game. It’s called Social,”

“Oh!” the Count exclaims, glancing at the board. “What a coincidence. We’re lucky that I’m participating in this one and not you!”

“Shut up,” Yuri complains as they all follow the attendant out to the smaller competition area.

“One person from each team must gather certain items from other people,” the attendant explains. “The quickest to gather all the items gets two points. If you have four out of the five items when the other team finishes, you will receive one point; otherwise, you’ll receive zero points. Now, if the teams will please choose their player, we’ll begin.”

Yuuri turns to the Count.

“Looks like you’re up,” Yuuri says with a smile.

“And it’s truly the perfect task,” the Count says happily. “I’ll be finished in no time.”

And indeed, he does move quickly. He already has three items by the time the other competitor is just getting her first.

“Damn, he does know how to get his way,” Yuri says.

“Did you expect anything different?” Mr. Bandages asks with a chuckle.

“No, but he doesn’t have to be so happy about it,” Yuri mutters as the Count holds up his fourth item and waves to the team.

They watch as the Count approaches a woman for the fifth and final item. Yuuri doesn’t know what they’re saying, but the woman’s face grows redder and redder at every word. After a moment, the woman reaches into her handbag and, without meeting his gaze, slips something into the Count’s pocket. The Count smiles and presumably thanks her before heading back to rejoin the team.

“Do you have everything?” the attendant asks as he approaches.

“I do~” the Count replies, handing everything over.

“Yes, you certainly do…” the attendant replies with a blush. “As well as some… extras, I see,” he continues, setting a few of papers aside. “Yes, well… Your team receives two points. Would you… like these back?” he asks, gesturing to the papers.

The Count shrugs, but he takes them back. Mr. Bandages looks over his shoulder, then, with a sharp laugh, he snatches them out of the Count’s hands.

“Three people gave you their numbers?” Mr. Bandages asks through his laughter. “Darling, should I be worried?”

“Sweetheart, these are the 15th, 16th, and 17th ones I’ve received this month,” the Count says. “Of course you should be worried.”

Yuuri’s stomach churns at the words. He feels jealous of Mr. Bandages, and jealous of all the people giving the Count their numbers, and he knows he has no right to feel this way, but that only makes everything hurt worse.

“I’m going back to the arena,” Yuuri says quickly, turning around abruptly before he accidentally makes eye contact.

For a moment, all that can be heard is the sound of his footsteps. After he’s several strides away, though, he hears the sound of slapping (probably courtesy of Yuri), and then the Count calls out.

“Eros, wait—” 

But Yuuri can’t wait. If he doesn’t leave now, he’ll only get more upset, and then he’ll fuck up his part of the competition and let everybody down, just like he always does. If he can just be alone for a minute, he’ll calm down, and he’ll realize he’s just being stupid, and everything will go back to normal, but…

“Eros,” the Count says, brushing a hand against Yuuri’s shoulder. “Eros, I realize that it sounds like I’ve been flirting with people all day, but believe me, I actually hate that kind of attention.”

Yuuri whirls around.

“No, it’s fine! Don’t lie,” Yuuri says quickly.

“I’m not lying!” the Count shouts. “I haven’t lied to you! I’ve twisted my words a little, I admit, but I haven’t lied to _you!_ I can’t bear to lie to you...”

“Okay. Okay, fine,” Yuuri says. “You aren’t lying. But it… It doesn’t matter!” he insists.

“You’re still upset…” the Count murmurs. He stares into Yuuri’s eyes for a moment, and then he frowns. “Should I kiss you or something?”

“What? No!” Yuuri snaps, taking a couple of steps backwards. “This isn’t a movie, you know! Kissing won’t fix anything!”

“I… I see…” the Count says, still frowning. “Then… What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing!” Yuuri insists. It comes out angrier than he intended, though, so he takes a deep breath in the hopes of stilling his nerves and tries again. “Nothing, really. I’m fine. Let’s just go back to the arena already. We have to get ready for the last game.”

The Count looks reluctant, but, slowly, he nods.

They make their way back to the arena to wait for the final round. A few minutes later, Yuri and Mr. Bandages join them, which at least saves Yuuri from having to deal with any more awkward silence for the time being. Yuri shoves his way between Yuuri and the Count to make a spot for him to sit, while Mr. Bandages sits on the Count’s other side. Almost as soon as they sit down, Viktor’s announcement tone plays.

“And that’s the end of round three!” Viktor’s voice plays from the speaker. “Congratulations to the teams that won this round~”

“He sounds like a broken record…” Yuuri mutters.

Yuri snorts.

“Yeah, how much do you want to bet he prerecorded those messages,” he whispers.

“It’s time for the final round~ This round is for the leaders. It follows the same rules as the previous rounds but is worth four points,” Viktor continues. “That is all. Good luck~”

This time, the board matches Yuuri’s team up with team 1. 

“Eros versus the Ice Queen,” Yuri comments. “Interesting.”

Yuuri doesn’t know who the Ice Queen is, but he hopes he won’t fail as miserably as he does when he’s competing on real ice.

“At… Fix It…” the Count reads from the screen.

Oh, great. Yuuri’s never been good at fixing anything.

Yuuri tries to ignore the nervousness eating at him as his team heads out to meet their opponents.

“The leaders will both get a broken plate that they must fix,” the attendant explains. “The first to finish gets four points. Depending on how much more time it takes the other team to finish, they can get anywhere from three to zero points. If the teams are ready, we can begin.”

Yuuri nods, and then he’s given several plate shards and a large, circular platter on which to assemble them. Once he figures out where the edges of the plate are, it isn’t that hard for him to fit the rest of the pieces together. In a matter of minutes, he’s got the entire thing put together. There’s a cute design of Makkachin in the center, and Yuuri can’t help but smile a little.

His smile grows wider when the attendant calls the score.

“The winner of this game is team number 7. Congratulations team number 7. You receive four points. Team 1 gains three points for finishing so quickly after Eros.”

Yuri and Mr. Bandages congratulate him, but Yuuri’s attention is drawn to the Count.

“You did great,” the Count says warmly as he stares at Yuuri with wide eyes. 

“It… It was so close, though,” Yuuri says. “I almost _didn’t_ win.”

“I said you did _great,_ Eros,” the Count says firmly. “Not that you did perfectly. Frankly, you were a little slow picking out some of those middle pieces, and you were clearly gluing everything together sloppily. I bet if I picked that plate up, it would break again immediately,” the Count continues. “But the task wasn’t to do it perfectly! The way you worked was… more than fine. If you could watch yourself the way I do, you would see it… The look you get on your face…”

Yuuri doesn’t understand what it is the Count thinks he saw. If anything, Yuuri was probably looking annoyed.

But he doesn’t want to feel like that. He knows the Count didn’t mean anything bad. He knows, And even if the Count’s attempt to fix things had been startlingly tactless, Yuuri was always planning on forgiving him. Maybe now is the right time.

Yuuri stumbles into the Count’s arms.

“Please keep watching me,” he says. “Until Viktor’s game is over.”

That’s all Yuuri can ask for.

The Count hugs him tightly.

“I wish it would never end,” he murmurs.

Yuuri’s heart echoes the sentiment, but Yuuri doesn’t say anything more.

The team soon makes its way back to the main arena. Since they’ve won every challenge so far, it’s not surprising that they’re in first place. Nevertheless, Yuuri feels his heart speed up a little. First isn’t a position he’s particularly used to, especially not lately. Maybe if he can’t make it in figure skating, he might have a future in competitive game shows. The thought causes him to laugh.

“Eros is right; we’re so far in the lead it’s laughable,” Yuri says. Yuuri almosts protests, but then he’d have to explain what he was actually laughing about, and that would be… undesirable.

“But we can’t get complacent,” Mr. Bandages warns. “There are other teams who received maximum points today, too. We’re only first right now because we won the luck game the other day, while everyone else failed Viktor’s impossible task.”

“I’m sure Viktor still has some difficult challenges planned…” the Count says. “So we’ll have to keep up our efforts. But we’re definitely in a good position right now.”

Viktor’s announcement tone interrupts them before anyone can say anything further.

“And that wraps up today’s game~” Viktor’s voice comes through the speakers. “Good work, everyone~ Now, I’m sure that many of you are especially grateful that tomorrow is a rest day after today’s events. Make sure to get plenty of rest and relaxation because this will be the last one~ That is all~”

Right, tomorrow is the last rest day, because the competition is almost over. Yuuri stiffens. Whatever the Count said about wishing Viktor’s game would never end, they both knew from the beginning that their time was limited. Soon, he and the Count are going to have to part their separate ways.

He glances at the Count from the corner of his eye, and, unbidden, a surge of affection rushes through him.

It isn’t fair. Yuuri wasn’t supposed to like the Count _this_ much. How much is it going to hurt to lose him now?

“Eros?” the Count asks, interrupting Yuuri’s thoughts. “Are you alright?”

Yuuri blushes as he realizes that glancing at the Count has since turned into _staring,_ at the Count, and he’s been caught red-handed.

“I’m fine,” he says quickly. “Just thinking about the game.”

“I see...” the Count says, wrapping an arm around Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri leans into it, accepting his fate.

If his time with the Count is doomed to end, Yuuri wants to make the most of what he has left.


	11. Chapter 11

Yuuri wakes up the next morning with the immediate thought that he wants to go on another date with the Count. He dresses in his costume in the hopes that he’ll be able to find the Count somewhere around the mansion, but unfortunately, Yuuri doesn’t know where to look. The Count isn’t in the library, and none of the staff members have any idea where he might be.

He spends half an hour searching before he gives up. He’s on his way back to his room to change no use going out to town in costume if he doesn’t have to) when he turns the corner and bumps into someone.

“Sorr— Oh, Eros!” Viktor exclaims. He quickly brushes a hand over his cape, smoothing it out (and Yuuri notices that the cape is the right side out this time).

Yuuri stumbles backwards, uncomfortably aware of just how _close_ they had ended up the last time they spoke.

“I, uh, sorry!” Yuuri says. “Sorry for bumping into you, and, uh, for the other day…”

“No, no, I should be the one apologizing to you!” Viktor says, raising his hands calmingly. “Things have been so busy for me lately, I’m afraid, or else I would have come to see you sooner. I’m glad to have come across you today, although I have to say I’m surprised. I thought you would have left for town already.” He chuckles.

“Yeah, I…” Yuuri hesitates. “Can I ask you something? Nobody else has been able to help me, but since you know everything that goes on around here… Uh, do you know where the Count is?”

“The Count? ” Viktor murmurs. “Ah… He isn’t here at the moment. Perhaps you’ll run across him in town.”

“Oh… I guess we might run into each other,” Yuuri says, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. “I don’t know, though… I was going to go to the mall; even if we happen to go to the same place, we could still miss each other.”

“The mall certainly does attract a crowd,” Viktor says. “But the more people around, the greater chance that one of them will be the one you’re looking for. You should go, Eros. I have a good feeling!”

Viktor smiles his famous heart-shaped smile, and even Yuuri can’t help but feel slightly optimistic.

“Thank you,” Yuuri says a little breathlessly. “I mean, uh, thank you for telling me. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him while I’m in town.”

“Anytime~” Viktor says, his smile never wavering. 

As Yuuri turns to leave, a sudden cough stops him.

“Ah, wait,” Viktor says. “Before you go, I wanted to ask your opinion…”

“You want _my_ opinion?” Yuuri asks with just a hint of incredulity.

“Yes. As a first-timer here,” Viktor says. “What do you think of the game so far?”

“Well…” Yuuri pauses to think. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”

“And is that a good or a bad thing?” Viktor asks. “You already know that this is the last time I’m holding this event, so you can be open with me. I’m genuinely looking for feedback.”

“It’s good,” Yuuri says without hesitation. “It’s fun, and unique… I’m so happy to have had the chance to be here. I’ve done a lot of things I never would have, and I’ve… made memories I’ll never forget…” Yuuri swallows thickly. “So, yes, I’m really glad I got to be a part of it…’

“Despite your words, you sound quite sad,” Viktor murmurs. “Is something on your mind?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Yuuri says. He can’t just unload his feelings on Viktor, and anyway, there’s nothing Viktor could do about it. Even a living legend like Viktor Nikiforov can’t freeze time and make a moment last forever.

“Well, if you’d like to talk to someone, I’m always here,” Viktor says. He’s such a good actor that Yuuri almost believed he _wants_ Yuuri to talk to him.

But that’s not how he really feels. Viktor is just playing the part of a good host. And at any rate, Yuuri can’t talk about his _love problems_ with _Viktor Nikiforov._

As soon as Yuuri leaves (for real, this time), he heads back to his room and changes quickly. By the time he finds a driver to take him to the mall, it’s about lunchtime. Yuuri grabs a quick meal at the food court before he starts wandering around aimlessly. It’s not like he has any particular need to buy anything. Every now and then he passes something that reminds him of Phichit, but nothing in the shops really holds his attention. 

He’s just about to enter the fourth random clothing store he’s seen so far when he catches a glimpse of bright yellow from the corner of his eye. He turns, and sure enough, that long, silver hair tells Yuuri that he’s definitely looking at the Count.

The Count whirls around suddenly, as though he’d been able to feel Yuuri’s gaze on him. His eyes light up as he spots Yuuri, and he pushes his way through several people to get to Yuuri’s side.

“Eros!” he greets happily. “I was hoping I would get to see you.”

“Uh… Me, too…” Yuuri says, his heart clenching with happiness.

“Are you doing more shopping for your friend today?” the Count asks. “I could help again.”

“Oh, ah, no,” Yuuri says, chuckling slightly. “I was just… looking. I don’t have anything planned out.”

“No plans at all? Me neither,” the Count says cheerfully. “Maybe we should join up. Two free spirits, just following our hearts.”

Yuuri laughs.

“You know you promised me a tour before, but we haven’t seen the _whole_ city,” he says. “Why don’t you take me sightseeing?”

The Count’s smile broadens.

“Sure!” he agrees. “I know just where we can go!”

Over the course of the afternoon, they go to what must be every possible interesting spot in the city (Yuuri feels like he’s living in a listicle— 25 Attractions That Will Almost Make You Forget Your Romance Has An Expiration Date).

At the end of the day, they return to the beach. Even though they’ve been there before, Yuuri finds his breath taken away yet again. The beach is even more beautiful at sunset.

And even though Yuuri would never say that his life is anything like a romance movie, for one amazing moment, he and the Count share a kiss next to the sunset-illuminated sea.

Oh, Yuuri’s never going to have anything better than this. This is the kind of perfect kiss that people search their whole lives for. 

“Count…” Yuuri breathes when they pull away. “Thank you for today. And for these past several days… I wasn’t sure about coming to this event at all, but… Getting to know you made it more than worth it… And I just want you to know that I’ll never forget you.”

The Count stiffens.

“You say it like you’re trying to break up with me…” he says, chuckling.

Yuuri closes his eyes.

“Eros…” the Count continues with dawning horror. “Eros, you aren’t really…”

“We only have a few days left together! We have to end it some time!” Yuuri insists, even though he can feel his heart shatter with the words.

“How… How can you…” the Count says.

Yuuri’s eyes snap open. The Count is only a few feet in front of him, and Yuuri can see clearly the tears running out of the corners of his eyes.

The Count cries so beautifully.

“How can you be so selfish? Maybe _I_ don’t want what we have to end,” the Count says. “Can’t we talk about this?”

If Yuuri’s heart wasn’t already broken, he’s sure it would crack now.

“What’s there to talk about?” he asks miserably. “You’re a rich actor and I’m… not. Our lifestyles would never work out…”

“Then what if I say I’ll make it work?” the Count insists. “Eros, I’ll give up everything... just stay.”

“No!” Yuuri exclaims. “You can’t… You can’t do that, especially not for me, and… I… I can’t, I’m sorry…”

For a moment, the Count just stares straight at Yuuri. Then, he sighs.

“There’s nothing I can do…?” he asks, but his voice is resigned as if he knows the answer already.

“I’m sorry…” is what Yuuri says instead. It’s answer enough.

For a while, the two of them just stare out at the ocean as the sun finally slips beyond the horizon and darkness falls over them.

“I… I guess I should go back now,” Yuuri says quietly. His voice is drowned by the crashing of the waves, or maybe he just feels like _he’s_ drowning. Either way, the Count doesn’t respond.

“I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow?” Yuuri tries again. 

This time, the Count gives a nod, but he still remains quiet, continuing to stare at the sea as his hair billows in the breeze.

The trip back to the mansion is cold.


	12. Chapter 12

When Yuuri wakes up the next morning, something is… off.

(And it’s not just his heart, either.)

The room looks so different that he’s not even sure it’s the same room. His bed is the same, and his costume is there, but other than that, everything is unfamiliar.

Viktor’s announcement tone plays shortly after Yuuri has finished getting dressed, and oh boy, is Yuuri ever excited to get some answers.

… Except instead of Viktor’s voice, all that plays is static.

The static gets louder and louder before it’s abruptly cut off. Viktor’s announcement tone plays again, signalling the end of the announcement.

Yuuri tries his best _not_ to freak out, but it doesn’t help when he tries to open his door only to find it locked. He fumbles with it for a good couple of minutes before he realizes that _he_ has to unlock it. He laughs in relief as he opens the door… But immediately, he chokes himself off. The hallway in front of him is unfamiliar, dimly lit, and completely empty. No clue or servant is in sight.

“I can’t believe Viktor really has a dungeon…” he murmurs, chuckling nervously.

The sound echoes around him strangely. It’s very unsettling.

Maybe if he just… picks a direction, he’ll end up running into somebody. At least, it’s got to be better than running back to his bed and hiding, which is pretty much his only other option (and that’s not the key to winning, obviously).

The hallway stretches downwards to both his left and right. Yuuri picks the left path, following it down until he reaches a corner. He rounds it into an open area, and almost immediately, someone calls out to him.

“Eros,” the Count calls from the other side of the corridor.

“Count,” Yuuri says in relief. His heart leaps, but in the next second, Yuuri remembers the events of the previous night, and his stomach sinks.

“I take it you also woke up in a strange room,” the Count continues. His voice isn’t harsh, exactly; it’s just… neutral. But—and maybe it’s just Yuuri’s own guilty conscience speaking—the Count speaking to him like this hurts worse than being yelled at. He had cried last night… Is he really okay now?

Or had he just realized that Yuuri isn’t worth crying over?

“Yeah…” Yuuri agrees. 

It’s hard for _him_ to carry on like he isn’t upset, but… They have to work together if they want to complete today’s task. Yuuri takes a deep breath and resolves to save his misery for later.

“So, uh, any idea where we are?” he asks, glancing around.

“Probably somewhere in Viktor’s mansion,” the Count says with a shrug. “This must be one of those areas specifically made for the event.”

Yuuri hums in agreement.

An awkward pause lingers between them.

“So, have you, uh, seen any of the others?” Yuuri asks.

“No,” the Count responds. For a moment, it seems that it’s all he’s going to say, but then he opens his mouth again. “But I’m sure they’re around here somewhere. It wouldn’t make sense to only move some of us.”

“Right…” Yuuri agrees. 

Suddenly, the lights begin to flicker. Yuuri looks at the Count in alarm, but before he can even gasp, they’re plunged into darkness.

“Looks like someone forgot to pay the electricity bill,” the Count jokes.

In the dark, Yuuri doesn’t feel bad about smiling.

“Even billionaires need to budget, I guess,” he says.

In a few seconds, the lights come back on.

“Oh, too bad. I liked the atmosphere,” the Count says lightly. “But now I suppose we should keep moving.”

“You’re right,” Yuuri agrees.

“... quicker… rid of me…” the Count mumbles.

“Uh, sorry, what was that?” Yuuri asks. The Count normally doesn’t mumble… or at least not genuinely—fake mumbling for dramatic effect is easy enough to understand and doesn’t count.

“Nothing,” the Count says. “Nothing at all.”

That’s obviously untrue. Yuuri knows he heard him say _something._

But he doesn’t push it. He’s caused enough damage already.

“Okay…” Yuuri says hesitantly. “Let’s go.”

They walk side by side, awkward silence the only thing between them.

From the corner of his eye, Yuuri keeps catching the Count glancing at him repeatedly before looking away.

Yuuri pretends he doesn’t see, but the guilt eats at him. What does it say about him that he still wants to wrap his arms around the Count?

(It says that he’s in too deep, but Yuuri already knew that.)

A sudden clatter startles both of them. Yuuri jumps. The Count is more collected, but he still has to take a step backwards to steady himself.

“What was that?” Yuuri asks. The words seem too loud compared to the previous silence, and he wishes he’d whispered.

“Whatever it was, it came from that direction,” the Count replies, gesturing towards a wall ahead of them.

They cautiously move forward, only to freeze at the scene they come across.

“That’s… some interesting decor. I didn’t think they’d go all out… with smell and all,” the Count says, wrinkling his nose at the metallic scent of blood.

“What the _fuck_?” 

Yuuri looks up to see Yuri and Mr. Bandages entering the corridor.

“There you two are,” the Count greets. “I was starting to wonder if you’d gotten los—”

“Oh, shut up,” Yuri says. “This is the coolest thing that’s happened so far, okay? We were checking things out.”

“Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself,” the Count chuckles. 

“For once we’re doing something that’s actually creepy and not corny,” Yuri says as he approaches the blood-stained message on the wall in front of them.

Yuuri likes the creepy setting as well, but he still winces slightly when Yuri splashes through some entrails lying on the ground.

“Well, Mr. Wolf, are you going to tell us what it says?” Mr. Bandages asks. He’s standing behind Yuuri and the Count, well away from where all the blood is. Ironically, his costume is probably the only one that wouldn’t look terrible covered in blood.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m looking,” Yuri grumbles. “The message is smeared, alright? And the writing is really untidy. I’ve seen three-year olds be less sloppy.”

After he finishes scanning the words, he growls. 

“None of this is useful!” he says, crossing his arms in a huff.

“But what does it _say_?” Mr. Bandages repeats.

“I’ll hide something something seek. Find something before I something something first. Something something last something fails something something for all something,” Yuri reads.

“That is useless,” the Count agrees. “You must not be reading it right.”

“Okay, idiot, let’s see you do better,” Yuri says, stepping back.

The Count grimaces as he takes Yuri’s place.

“These shoes are going to have to go…” he mutters.

“We all know you have five more pairs of these exact shoes,” Mr. Bandages says with a laugh.

“What’s your point?” the Count asks without looking back. He covers his nose with a hand as he presses closer to the wall.

“E-T-blank-blank-N-blank-T-Y,” he reads. “Eternity?”

“See, you’re no help, either,” Yuri says smugly.

“Now, that could be ‘pay’ or… maybe ‘play.’ I can’t tell if that’s an ‘l’ or a smear…” the Count continues.

“Still not helpful,” Yuri points out.

“If you—” the Count starts, but he stops abruptly when a childish voice begins singing “Ring Around the Rosie.”

The sound bounces off the walls, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

The lights begin to flicker. 

“Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!”

The lights turn off, and for a horrible second, Yuuri expects to actually fall. But the lights turn back on without anything happening.

“Well, that was something,” Mr. Bandages remarks.

“Ha! It’s going to take more than a creepy child to scare me!” Yuri insists.

“Oh, really?” the Count teases? “Is that why you’re so close to me?”

Sure enough, Yuri had moved closer to the Count’s side in the dark.

“No!” Yuri yells. “I just didn’t want you to do anything stupid in the dark!”

The Count laughs.

The two of them come back over to Yuuri and Mr. Bandages.

“So, the clue is useless—”

“Like I _said,_ ” Yuri interjects.

“ _Anyway,_ there are only three corridors here, and we came out of two of them without experiencing anything unusual. Perhaps we should continue along the third path until we find more clues?” the Count suggests.

“Yes, we should probably leave this area as quickly as possible,” Yuuri agrees. He’s played enough horror games to know better than to idle in the same spot for too long.

They all head off, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. With four people on the lookout, surely they’ll find a clue if it appears.

After a few minutes of walking, the lights begin flickering again.

“It’s a trick. Keep walking,” Yuri insists.

And they probably would have had a strange flickering blue light not appeared in the middle of the corridor. Mr. Bandages comes to such an abrupt halt that Yuuri almost bumps into him.

Yuri, too, halts and just stares forward.

“Hey, Count…” Mr. Bandages says. “Why don’t you come look at this?”

As the Count comes forward, the same singing from before starts up again.

Yuuri pushes his way between Mr. Bandages and Yuri, trying to see what’s going on.

“That’s a child…” Yuuri says. 

But apparently it isn’t the same child that’s singing, because this one mouths something at them silently and points towards them.

“Can… Can one of you lip read?” Yuuri asks. He vaguely recalls somebody having that listed as a skill.

“Already on it,” Mr. Bandages says, squinting at the little girl. 

It takes him a few minutes, but eventually, he nods.

“Four little costumed dolls to play with me; one fell behind and then there were three,” Mr. Bandages says.

“And then there were three…” the Count murmurs. “Wait… I haven’t heard Mr. Wolf say anything snarky in a while…”

Yuuri glances beside him, but Yuri is no longer there. He whirls around. Still no Yuri behind him.

The singing abruptly stops.

“Oops, he’s going to be furious,” the Count says.

“You’re saying they took him as part of the game?” Yuuri asks.

“Well, he’d better not be playing a joke,” the Count says, shaking his head. “We can check, but— Oh!”

He bends down and picks up something off of the ground. He let’s out a chuckle.

It’s a doll. A doll that looks just like Mr. Wolf.

“It’s covered in blood…” Mr. Bandages says, grimacing.

“Oh, that’s from my shoes,” the Count says. “I got some on it when I stepped on it.”

“Somehow, that’s even worse,” Mr. bandages says.

Yuuri notices a little piece of paper tucked up in the doll’s belt, and he grabs it while the Count and Mr. Bandages are still talking.

“Uh, listen to this,” Yuuri says as he reads the message written on the paper in blood. “It just says ‘find me.’”

“Is that our second clue?” Mr Bandages asks.

“I guess so…” Yuuri says.

The three of them walk forward in silence, Mr. Bandages walking between Yuuri and the Count.

They haven’t been walking for very long when Mr. Bandages sighs heavily.

“Are you going to do that all day?” he asks.

“Do what?” the Count asks. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Exactly. You keep glancing at each other with wide-eyed, longing stares, but neither of you are doing anything about it” Mr. Bandages says. “I’d think there was trouble in paradise if you weren’t so mutually lovesick.”

Yuuri flushes. He hadn’t realized he was being so obvious about it.

“Would you rather I look at you, darling?” the Count asks with a loud laugh.

 _Count,_ ” Mr. Bandages hisses. “I’m not playing. I’m not going to stand here and let you hide behind me. I’ll walk in front. You two, _talk_ to each other.”

He walks forward, leaving Yuuri and the Count together. Neither of them close the gap between them.

Yuuri looks down at his feet, unable to meet the Count’s gaze. For all that Mr. Bandages told them to talk, Yuuri has no idea what to say. He had already apologized last night; it wasn’t good enough! And what else can Yuuri say? If he pretends that he has any shot with the Count in the future, it will only hurt worse when reality rips them apart.

“We should go after him…” the Count says after a moment. “If we lose sight of him, we may never find him again.”

They walk forward, eventually coming to rest in front of a set of doors.

“So… I guess we check what’s behind the door?” Yuuri suggests.

“I’ll do it,” Mr. Bandages volunteers. “One of us has to show some courage.”

Yuuri frowns. Somehow, Mr. Bandages has managed to scald both him and the Count in the same sentence.

But the thing is, Mr. Bandages doesn’t know a lot about Yuuri. If he did, he wouldn’t expect Yuuri to be courageous.

Mr. Bandages lets out a laugh as he opens the door.

“Kinky!” he comments.

Yuuri’s immediate thought of _Oh god, Viktor Nikiforov has a sex dungeon,_ is interrupted by the sound of the door slamming shut behind Mr. Bandages.

The Count mutters something under his breath in what Yuuri thinks is French.

“Should we let him go on his own like that?” Yuuri asks worriedly. He pulls on the door to follow him, but it just won’t budge. The Count can’t get it to open, either, and then, to make matters worse, the lights start flickering again. The creepy singing starts up, too.

“Mr. Bandages, are you still there?” the Count shouts at the door.

Mr. Bandages does not respond.

“Okay, Eros,stand back,” the Count says. “I’m going to break this door down.”

The Count’s first attempt rattles the door, but it doesn’t quite knock it down. His second attempt does no better.

“Wow, what a sturdy door,” the Count remarks. “I’ll have to find out what company made it. I’m very impressed.”

Yuuri is about to offer to try himself when the door creaks open on its own. The singing fades away.

The Count glances between the door and Yuuri before he offers out his hand.

“We… need to stay together,” the Count says. A faint blush colors his cheeks. “I won’t take this to mean anything more than mere strategy, but I need you to hold my hand.”

“Right…” Yuuri says, taking the offered hand. When their skin meets, it’s like a spark passes between them. Yuuri’s grip tightens around the Count’s fingers, and the Count squeezes back just once.

It doesn’t feel like “mere strategy” to Yuuri.

They slowly walk forward together. Just as they’d expected, Mr. Bandages is nowhere to be found. Instead, a headless Mr. Bandages doll rests in a pool of blood on the ground just below a dangling rope.

“You knew it would be suicide to enter alone…” the Count mutters. He grimaces as he picks up the doll. “The blood is just to spite me, isn’t it?”

“Is there a note with this one, too?” Yuuri asks.

“Yes…” the Count murmurs. “Ah. ‘Find me.’ The ghost is repeating herself.”

“It says ‘me’? Not ‘us’?” Yuuri asks. “So it’s talking about the ghost, and not our teammates?”

“Probably…” the Count agrees.

“Great. We just have to find this ghost before it picks the both of us off, too,” Yuuri says.

Together, the search the room for any more clues or exits, but they find nothing. The only way out appears to be the way they came in.

“We should get moving,” the Count says. “We’re not going to find the ghost in here.”

“Yeah, and we’re running out of chances to find her,” Yuuri says. “Mr. Wolf and Mr. Bandages are already gone. I’m sure it’s game over if we’re all taken out.”

They return to the corridor, cautiously following it further down. Nothing overtly suspicious jumps out at them, but Yuuri is wary.

“You know, in a movie, this would be the part where something terrible happens to the protagonists to catch them off guard,” the Count says, his cheery tone belying his ominous words.

Suddenly, the Count stops.

“Uh… I was joking…” he says. “Eros, please tell me I’m not imagining this.”

Yuuri stops as well, and that’s when he notices what the Count is talking about.

The ground beneath them is shaking.

“You’re not imagining it,” Yuuri says. “I just hope it’s not a real earthquake, because we’d never know about it in here,” Sure, Viktor would probably make an announcement if they were in any danger of a real earthquake, but they would still have no way of knowing for sure.

“Right… Let’s keep moving, then,” the Count says.

Yuuri takes a step forward. The Count, however, doesn’t move. Yuuri comes to a halt when he feels the chain of their hands strain.

“Are you…. Alright?” Yuuri asks worriedly.

The Count’s eyes widen slightly.

“I’m fine,” the Count says coolly. “Why do you ask?”

He grins widely.

Yuuri wouldn’t buy it even if he hadn’t spent the past week and a half around the Count.

“What happened to not lying to me?” Yuuri asks. 

“But I _am_ fine. I’m standing and smiling,” the Count mutters through his grin. “Am I not in-character enough? I don’t know what more anyone could ask for.”

“Don’t pretend you’re okay when you’re not!” Yuuri shouts. “I don’t care what anyone else wants you to do! I want to… I want to know _you,_ not a character…”

“No, you don’t,” the Count argues. “You want to be rid of me as soon as the masks come off. Why should it matter to you if I’m telling the truth or not?”

“It matters to me because I love you!” Yuuri blurts out, taking an involuntary step forward.

Oh, god, what has he done? It’s too soon to talk about love, even if that’s the only name Yuuri can give to the feeling in his heart...

The Count inhales sharply. His grasp tightens around Yuuri’s fingers.

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri says quickly. “I know my feelings are too much—”

“Eros,” the Count interrupts. Suddenly he tugs Yuuri forward, Slowly, he drags Yuuri’s hand to rest over his heart. “Can you feel my heart beat?”

It’s actually a little difficult for Yuuri to feel anything besides the pounding of his _own_ heart, but sure enough, after a moment, Yuuri can feel a faint pulsing. And if he’s feeling it through all the Count’s layers of clothing, it must be strong…

“Are you… that scared?” Yuuri asks. “Of the earthquake?”

“It’s not about the earthquake,” the Count says. “It’s not about fear at all. Eros, my heart is beating because of you.”

Yuuri’s eyes snap up to meet the Count’s. The Count’s gaze is tender.

“You know, I fell a little in love with you the day we met,” the Count says, laughing breathlessly. “And I’ve only fallen harder since. If that makes any difference to you…”

Yuuri looks down.

After a moment, the Count sighs.

“We should get going,” he says, squeezing Yuuri’s hand as he removes it from his chest. “It doesn’t look like the tremors will be stopping anytime soon.”

The earthquake seems to intensify the more they walk forward, eventually progressing to the point where they have to lean on the walls (and each other) just to stay upright. When they round the next corner, they watch in horror as the floor in front of them crumbles away.

“Crumbling floors…” the Count mutters. “Viktor has really outdone himself this time. Even I’m surprised.”

“Did you really not expect Viktor to surpr—” Yuuri cuts himself off when he spots a ghostly figure.

The singing starts up again, and the little ghost girl begins mouthing words again. Without Mr. Bandages there to interpret, they can’t be sure what the ghost is trying to say, but…

“I think she’s trying to get us to cross the chasm,” the Count says.

The earthquake fades along with the ghost, and in a few seconds, Yuuri and the Count are able to stand upright again.

“We have to find something to get us to the other side…” Yuuri says, narrowing his eyes as he scans the area for any hints about what to do.

The Count nudges him, pointing towards the middle of the chasm.

“There’s a metal bar across the ceiling there,” he says. “If we could hook a rope or something, we could swing across.”

“There was a rope in the room where Mr. Bandages disappeared,” Yuuri says slowly.

“Oh,you’re right,” the Count agrees.

Yuuri raises a hand to his forehead in frustration. He should have grabbed the rope when he had the chance! You’d think he’d never played a dungeon crawler before!

“I guess we have to backtrack,” the Count says. “At least the tremors have stopped.”

“Yeah..” Yuuri agrees. “We don’t have a choice. Let’s hurry up and get this over with.”

They don’t have much time for conversation as they run back to the previous room. The Count picks up the rope, but instead of leaving immediately, he glances around the room.

“Do you see any hooks around?” he asks. “It would make things easier…”

Yuuri squints as he searches the room. Nothing on the ground… Nothing on the walls… Oh!

“There are some hooks on the ceiling,” Yuuri says, gesturing towards them. “They’re holding up the… uh, decor.”

“Perfect,” the Count says. “Now we just have to find a way to get them down.”

Yuuri frowns. There aren’t any tables or chairs to stand on. Yuuri remembers seeing a chair in his room earlier, but there’s no way they have time to backtrack…

Yuuri supposes it’s time to put his very limited knowledge of ice dance to use. 

“I’ll lift you,” he tells the Count determinedly.

“A-Ah,” the Count falters. “Are you sure? It might be easier if I lifted you instead…”

“You think I can’t lift you,” Yuuri says accusingly.

“That’s not it,” the Count argues, his face reddening. “Never mind. Just lift me.”

The Count doesn’t have any trouble grabbing the hook once Yuuri boosts him up. He’s up and back down in less than a minute. And now that they have both a rope and a hook, they should be out of the room quickly.

They should be, but they aren’t. Mostly because Yuuri can’t quite bring himself to remove his arms from the Count’s body.

In his defense, the Count isn’t helping. He leans into Yuuri’s touch—only slightly, but enough to encourage Yuuri anyway—and for a moment, they just stand there.

“Uh, we should go!” Yuuri exclaims suddenly, drawing himself backwards. He releases the Count from his grasp, but the Count quickly recaptures his hand.

“Right, sorry,” he says, not sounding even the slightest bit sorry. “You want to get things done quickly.”

Yuuri does want to get out of the dungeon quickly. But if staying means he gets to stay close to the Count for just a little longer…

No, he can’t continue that line of thought. This is about the whole team, after all. They shouldn’t lose just because Yuuri is focusing on his feelings instead of the task.

As they make their way back to the chasm, the Count attaches the hook to the rope. When they approach the edge of chasm, however, he hands it to Yuuri.

“I want to say that my aim is good. I’m supposed to be well-coordinated,” the Count mutters. “But the truth is that I’m only coordinated when it comes to my own body. If I try to hit a target with another object like this…”

“Oh…” Yuuri murmurs. “I’m better at coordinating my actual body, too… Sometimes. But I think I can do this.”

At the very least, he’s going to do it because the Count was honest with him about not wanting to. He’ll prove that the Count’s trust in him isn’t misplaced.

He hands the dolls to the Count and unlinks their hands so he can take the rope in both hands.

He takes a deep breath, throws the rope out, and… the hook glances off the beam and falls into the chasm.

He quickly tugs the rope back out. He does _not_ look at the Count’s reaction to this.

His second attempt hits its mark, the hook gripping securely around the beam.

“You did it!” the Count says happily. “Now, shall we swing across together—”

“No!” Yuuri yelps.

The Count’s face falls. Yuuri quickly continues.

“I think it would be safer if we went across one at a time,” Yuuri explains. “Even if the rope could hold us both, uh…”

He can just see the articles now. “Japanese Skater Breaks Both Legs Falling Into Giant Hole! Too Busy Reenacting Romantic Tarzan Scene to Remember to Hold On!”

“Alright…” the Count agrees with a sigh. “After you, then.”

Yuuri nods and readies himself to take a running leap. As he’s sailing over the chasm, the lights begin to flicker again.

Yuuri’s blood runs cold.

As soon as he’s safely on the other side, he whirls around, only to find that the Count has disappeared.

“Count!” he shouts, even though he knows it’s going to be futile. “Count, say something to me!”

The only thing Yuuri can hear is the sound of his own breathing.

“I’m… I’m sorry…” he chokes out as his throat tightens. “I didn’t want this…”

He shouldn’t have let go of the Count. If they had just stayed together, Yuuri wouldn’t be alone now…

But the game isn’t over yet. Even with the Count gone, Yuuri can still complete the task. He’s just got to focus.

On the other side of the chasm, Yuuri can see a small lump on the ground. Based on the previous disappearances, Yuuri assumes it’s a doll. And seeing as the others had all left clues, Yuuri supposes he ought to check this one, too.

He swings back to the other side.

The Count doll is lying on top of the other two dolls, which Yuuri supposes the Count must have dropped before disappearing. Unfortunately, it would be difficult for him to carry all three of them at once…

He feels only slightly guilty as he props the Mr. Bandages doll and the Mr. Wolf doll up against the wall. The Count doll stays cradled to his chest as he crosses the chasm again.

As he walks down the corridor, he begins examining the doll for the clue. Yuuri pulls out the little piece of paper from the Count’s waistcoat, opening it to reveal different words from the other notes.

“‘Mine…?” Yuuri reads off. A sudden burst of irritation rushes over him. “He’s not yours!” he shouts.

The lights dim tauntingly in response.

Yuuri speeds up into a run as the end of the corridor comes in sight. A large, ornate door marks the end of the area. Cautiously, Yuuri pushes it open and steps into a brightly lit room full of mirrors.

As he steps forward, the door slams shut behind him. He checks it just to be sure, but, predictably, it’s locked.

Well, it’s not like he would go back, anyway.

He hugs the Count doll a little closer for comfort as he walks forward. Something about the room is… off-putting.

He comes to an abrupt halt as he realizes what the problem is. None of the mirrors show his reflection.

“I’m not the vampire, here…” Yuuri mutters.

The joke would be funnier if the Count were there with him.

The lights dim again.

“Okay, okay,” Yuuri says. “I’m going.”

As he walks, something in one of the mirrors catches his attention. When he turns to look, however, it’s gone.

He continues forward to catch a glimpse of the ghost girl in one of the mirrors. He quickly turns to look behind him, but the ghost isn’t there. A childish giggle comes from the mirror, and in a flash, the ghost jumps into the mirror right next to it. She continues to hop around from mirror to mirror as Yuuri walks, almost as if she were guiding his way. Yuuri follows her until she reaches the last mirror.

Yuuri approaches another ornate, ominous door.

At this point, the ghost duplicates so that she’s in every mirror in the room. In unison, they all point at the door.

“Really? I’m supposed to go through the door?” Yuuri asks with mock surprise. “And here I thought I’d just stand here for the rest of eternity.”

A nearby mirror shatters.

Yuuri chuckles and pushes the door open.

The new room doesn’t look too bad. It seems like the kind of workroom a witch might have. Books and glass jars of various liquids line the shelves along the walls, and a multitude of instruments are strewn about on the tables.

There’s no other door, so Yuuri figures whatever he’s supposed to do is going to happen in here.

It’s difficult to focus in the messy room, but after a moment, a piece of paper on the table draws Yuuri’s attention.

“The Spell of Items Lost,” Yuuri reads aloud. “To find what you seek, gather these ingredients into the cauldron and stir thrice.”

Well, that doesn’t _seem_ too bad. He looks at the list of ingredients…

The bringer of light, the keeper of secrets, blood of toad, the balance of power, a flask of aqua, and shackles of flight...

Of course they can’t be straightforward..

Yuuri sighs and gets to work.

“Blood of toad” is easy to find, considering that there’s only one jar of thick, blood-red liquid in the room. Nothing in this room is exactly labelled, but there’s really no ambiguity here.

The “flask of aqua” is similarly easy to find, although it’s made slightly more confusing by the fact that there are two very similar flasks of a clear liquid. The difference is that one contains a fluid that is more… viscous… than water is supposed to be. Yuuri puts the mystery liquid back where it was with only slight disgust.

The “balance of power” takes him a minute merely because he can’t believe it would be so obvious. There’s a golden balance sitting at the edge of the table, and it’s only after Yuuri searches the rest of the room that he decides it’s the only thing that the clue could possibly be referring to. He moves it so that it’s closer to the other items he’s found.

He figures out “shackles of flight” when a crow’s sudden caw startles him out of his search. The bird is sitting in a cage in the corner of the room, its wings tucked close to its body. It certainly can’t fly like this.

The “bringer of light” is most likely the little lantern hanging from the ceiling. It was hard to notice at first, because the room is plenty light without its help, but as soon as Yuuri thinks to look upwards, its presence jumps out at him. He takes it down cautiously, not wanting to burn himself.

The “keeper of secrets” is the last item Yuuri needs to find, but it poses much more difficulty than the others. At first, Yuuri thinks the clue is referring to a diary of some sort, so he searches the bookshelves. The books, however, turn out to all be cookbooks—and commercial cookbooks, at that. Nothing that could even qualify as a “secret” recipe.

Yuuri’s about ready to scream in frustration, and to make matters worse, he trips over a chest and falls to the floor. It’s when he’s on the floor, however, that Yuuri realizes something.

The chest has a padlock.

“It keeps things, and they’re a secret to everyone without the key!” Yuuri exclaims, holding the Count doll up to his face. There’s nobody there to appreciate his sudden insight, so the doll’s enigmatic smile is the only encouragement Yuuri gets. But he imagines that the real Count’s smile would be a little warmer.

Now that he’s gathered all the ingredients, he places them in the large cauldron in the center of the room. It’s hard to make the chest fit, and he thinks it would be cruel to put a living bird in a pot of hot water, so he releases it and only puts the cage in, but other than that, he doesn’t have any trouble. He stirs the cauldron three times, which is what he’s _pretty_ sure “thrice” means, and the solution begins to bubble strangely. Thick smoke suddenly fills the room, making Yuuri cough and cover his face, but it dissipates almost as soon as it appears. When it’s gone, Yuuri uncovers his eyes to see that one of the walls has disappeared.

Yuuri peers at the winding stairway that heads downward. Of course, this is the only way to move forward, so, placing one hand on the wall to steady himself, he descends into the darkness. 

As soon as his foot touches the last stair, his surroundings are flooded with light. 

Yuuri blinks as his eyes adjust to the sudden change. When he reorients himself, he scans the room. It’s mostly empty, save for the very center, where there lies a single coffin.

Yuuri walks forward hesitantly. As he approaches, he can see an inscription. He leans close to it.

“It’s been cold and dark for so long; will I never see the sun?” Yuuri reads.

It’s a puzzle with a simple enough solution: take the girl into the sunlight. The problem is that the coffin is bolted to the floor.

It seems sort of disrespectful to open a coffin like this, but Yuuri reminds himself that this is just a game, and there’s not really a dead person inside. He squeezes the Count doll as if it could give him strength, and then he opens the coffin’s lid.

Inside is… a doll. It’s a lot more realistic than the cute, cartoonish dolls of Yuuri’s teammates, but it’s definitely a doll.

Yuuri is just relieved it’s not anything decomposing.

As he lifts the girl’s doll into his arms, part of the wall slides away to reveal another set of stairs leading up. As Yuuri ascends, he keeps his gaze focused on the light he can see at the top.

As Yuuri gets closer, he begins to feel a breeze. He picks up his pace, rushing up the last few stairs and laughing in delight as he steps out into the sunlight.

Yuuri looks down as he feels the already light doll grow even lighter. Slowly, the doll’s body crumbles away everywhere the sunlight hits, and in a matter of minutes, she’s reduced to dust.

Yuuri doesn’t have time to do anything more than gape before he’s approached by one of Viktor’s staff.

“Good job, Eros,” the man says politely. “The curse has finally been broken. For your efforts in this endeavor, your team receives five points.”

Yuuri smiles weakly. As exciting as today’s task was, it was also exhausting. Yuuri is tired both physically and emotionally, and he’s more than happy to be escorted back to the team room, where the first thing he does is collapse onto one of the couches.

The second thing Yuuri does is smile up at his teammates. He tries to meet the Count’s eyes—he feels like he owes him an apology—but the Count looks away too quickly.

Yuuri tries to brush it off. It’s probably better that the stay distant now, regardless of the things they said just hours before. What happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon.

“That was fucking awesome,” Yuri says, drawing Yuuri’s attention away from the Count. “I was worried you idiots would fail without me, and you almost did, but then Eros pulled through for us.”

“He was rooting for you the whole time, Eros,” Mr. Bandages says with a chuckle. “When the Count disappeared, he cheered and said ‘Finally, Eros can do his thing.’ It was hilarious.”

“”Shut up!” Yuri growls. “We were all watching him! Don’t act like you and the Count weren’t rooting for him, too! He’s our leader; what was I supposed to do?”

Yuuri suddenly stiffens as he thinks about what he must have looked like on screen. Even though the cameras don’t pick up sound, they must have caught him yelling at walls, cuddling the Count doll, stumbling over things, and just generally making a fool of himself…

No wonder the Count doesn’t want to look at him!

This doesn’t stop Yuuri from looking at the Count, though. In fact, his gaze seems to drift over to him unconsciously, despite Yuuri’s best efforts to keep his eyes on Yuri and Mr. Bandages.

Eventually, Yuri and Mr. Bandages catch on, and they, too, turn their gazes towards the Count, who can no longer continue to ignore Yuuri.

“You were amazing, of course,” the Count says after a pause. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a shower. I’m filthy and I think a little blood seeped into my socks.”

Yuuri’s stomach sinks as the Count leaves. The Count doll in his lap somehow manages to look accusing.

Part of Yuuri wants to run after the Count, but he figures it would be no use. He’s already said everything he has to say.

“Uh…” Yuri says awkwardly. “So I know I’m normally the first one the bash the Count, but does anyone else think that was… sad? Shouldn’t you be going after him, Eros?”

“Eros, when I spoke to you earlier, I was mostly directing my words to the Count…” Mr. Bandages murmurs. “But my advice actually applies to the both of you. Talk. It’s obvious that you two care deeply for each other.”

“Talking only makes things worse!” Yuuri snaps. “Maybe it’s time we tried keeping our mouths shut!”

Yuuri’s heart aches. If he had kept his mouth shut, his relationship with the Count still would have ended, but Yuuri’s heart would have only broken once. Now, he feels like it’s breaking again and again, and it’s so much worse than he expected.

“Hey, I’m the one who tells people when to shut up!” Yuri insists. “And I’m telling you not to shut up! He acts so differently around you! It’s gross, but it’s,,, He’s… He’s lonely without you, damn it!”

Yuuri’s heart breaks for the umpteenth time.

Mr. Bandages places a hand on Yuri’s shoulder. Yuri looks like he’s biting a lemon, but he falls silent.

“I… I need to go…” Yuuri says.

Loneliness. Of course that was the problem. It’s not that Yuuri had been unaware that the Count seemed lonely, exactly… It’s just that… the thought that the Count might be _less_ lonely because of _Yuuri_ seemed so… far-fetched, until now. And that Yuuri could have actually hurt the Count… That the Count could have felt, what, rejected? By _Yuuri?_ It seemed ridiculous.

But then, he managed to break his own heart. Why not the Count’s?

He immediately sets off down the hallway in the hopes of finding the Count. But no matter how many hallways he goes down, he can’t find the Count at all. The halls are entirely empty. It’s like he’s vanished, just like he had in the task earlier.

Yuuri gets more and more overwhelmed as he continues to search for the Count without fail. Tears well in his eyes without permission, but god, he can’t even figure out where he is! He slides down a wall and cradles his head in his hands as he cries. Maybe this will pass soon. Maybe nobody will see him like this.

When has Yuuri ever been so lucky?

Yuuri’s been crying for what seems like an eternity when he hears a voice call out his name.

“Eros? Are you alright?” Viktor asks. 

Right, because Yuuri isn’t having a bad enough time. His celebrity idol also has to witness him sobbing. Great.

(Maybe this is what he deserves, for hurting the Count to begin with.)

“That was stupid… I can see you’re not alright…” Viktor murmurs.

He takes a few steps forward, and then, suddenly, he sits next to Yuuri.

“I’m afraid I’m completely terrible with crying people,” Viktor says, his voice filled with a hint of regret. “But maybe you can tell me what’s wrong…”

“I’m completely terrible, too,” Yuuri blurts out, unable to think straight in his misery. “Only I’m completely terrible at _everything._ ”

A second later, he thinks about how pathetic that must sound, but unfortunately it only makes him cry harder.

Gently, Viktor places a hand against Yuuri’s cheek and pushes it down so that Yuuri’s head is lying on his shoulder.

Huh. He’s crying on Viktor’s shoulder. There are fans who would kill for this opportunity. And yet, the only person Yuuri can think about is the Count.

It takes a while for Yuuri to pull himself together, but Viktor waits patiently the whole time.

“I’m… so sorry,” Yuuri whispers tiredly when he’s done. “I’ve cried all over you, and I’m still covered in blood…”

Normally, he feels cathartic after crying. Now, _most_ of his emotions have been purged, but it only makes the shame he now feels seem that much stronger.

“I should just go…” Yuuri says weakly.

As Yuuri begins to stand up, Viktor grabs his hand.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Viktor asks. “I told you that you could call on me, Yuuri.”

Oh, great. Just when Yuuri thought he was done, Viktor’s soft voice sends more tears falling down his face.

“You wouldn’t be nice to me if you knew…” Yuuri chokes out. “If you knew how much I hurt him…”

Viktor squeezes his hand, which Yuuri takes as encouragement to continue.

“I wanted to find him and… and…”

“Do you need me to find someone for you?” Viktor interrupts.

“No!” Yuuri exclaims. “No, I don’t even know what I would say! I was the one who walked away! And my reasons haven’t changed! I just…”

As he trails off, Viktor hesitantly speaks up.

“I see…” he murmurs. “But if you were the one who walked away, perhaps leaving him alone would be best? If you don’t want a long-term relationship—”

“That’s not it!” Yuuri interrupts.

“That’s not it?” Viktor asks as though the statement confuses him completely.

“I want to be with him! This… This must sound stupid to you, but I think I want to be with him forever… But I just… can’t…”

“So… let me get this straight… He wants a long-term relationship, and this is also what you want… Then why walk away at all? Wouldn’t that be a happy ending?”

“You… You know my background…” Yuuri says miserably. “I’m a dime-a-dozen skater. Maybe ex-skater. Either way, our lifestyles would be too different. He’s an actor. He says he travels. I travel, too. We’d never see each other, unless… He said… He said he’d give up everything for me, but I can’t ask him to do that! And I could retire, but… I don’t _want_ to retire!”

Yuuri’s eyes widen a little at his own admission, but Viktor doesn’t seem nearly as surprised.

“I can see why that might be difficult…” Viktor murmurs thoughtfully. “But what if _he_ wants to retire? What if you aren’t asking him to give up anything at all?”

Yuuri’s eyes blur with another layer of tears.

“Even if you’re right, it’s too late now,” Yuuri says miserably. “I really blew it.”

“Don’t say that!” Viktor exclaims suddenly. “It’s never too late. True love conquers all!”

He shoots Yuuri a heart-shaped smile. Yuuri’s eyes are still watery, but he offers Viktor the best smile he can, even if it’s weak.

“Thanks…” Yuuri says. “Even if it’s not true, I feel a little better.”

“Anytime, Yuuri,” Viktor says softly. “Anytime.”


	13. Chapter 13

When Yuuri wakes up the next morning, he’s relieved to find that he’s in his normal room.

That split second of realization is the only relief he’s going to get, though. Immediately, yesterday’s events come rushing back to him, and Yuuri’s heart clenches painfully.

At least he no longer feels like crying.

He gets dressed just in time for Viktor’s announcement to play.

“Good morning, everyone~” he greets. “So, some people have been asking how we changed your rooms yesterday without any of you noticing. Well the answer is… magic~” He chuckles.  
Viktor pauses for a moment.

“Okay, okay, I can hear some of you getting ready to riot outside my door right now. I’m joking!” he continues. “The real answer is... holographs. I’m sure you’re all aware that this mansion is renovated every year for this event. This year, we added advanced holographic projectors. You just flip a switch, and the room is transformed!”

There’s a clicking sound, and then suddenly, Yuuri’s room is back to its dungeon-like appearance.

“In addition, we had retractable walls put in around the mansion. These are similar to roller shutters and make practically no noise. They were used to give the impression that the rooms and changed position.”

With another click, Yuuri’s room returns to normal.

“And that’s about it!. So now you know the truth,” Viktor says. “Even if it was more fun to think of it as magic…” he adds, muttering. “Anyway, today’s the final task! Can you believe it? Time just flew~ I think this calls for a little celebration~ And that, my dear guests, is why we’re having a little festival today~”

Yuuri doesn’t feel much like celebrating anything, but he listens attentively anyway. This is, after all, the task for today.

“The aim is simple: win as many games as you can to get more points,” Viktor explains. “But more importantly, have fun! Be spontaneous! Embrace your true love and pour your heart out!”

Yuuri nearly chokes. Is it a coincidence, or was that comment directed at him?

“Ah, just to be clear, you _don’t_ get points for doing that. Only the games give points,” Viktor says, chuckling. “Don’t let that discourage you, though. Enjoy yourselves today~”

The announcement ends. When Yuuri opens his door to leave, he’s immediately greeted by a man shoving a box at him.

“These are for you,” the man says. “Please read the instructions, then I’ll take you to the festival.”

Yuuri is a little surprised when the man is the one who slams the door shut, but it makes a little more sense when he he opens the box. In addition to the instructions, there’s also a festival mask and… a yukata?

A wave of homesickness washes over him, but he pushes it aside.

The instructions just say “WEAR ME” in large, bold print. On the other side of the page, in equally large print, it says “PS: DON’T TAKE OFF THE MASK DURING TODAY’S EVENT.”

Yuuri quickly changes into the dark blue yukata. He smiles at the cartoon dog mask he’s been provided. It looks like the kind of mask designed for a child, only it’s big enough to actually cover his face. Yuuri kind of hopes he’ll be allowed to take it home as a souvenir.

When Yuuri steps out his door, the man takes one glance at him before turning away, saying nothing as he leads Yuuri outside to the entrance of the festival.

“Hey, Eros! Get over here!” Yuuri hears Yuri shout. 

Yuuri looks over to see Yuri dressed in a white and red yukata. He’s got a cartoon tiger mask covering his face, though it’s cute expression makes it look more like a tabby kitten. Behind him are Mr. Bandages and the Count. Mr. Bandages is in a yellow yukata, and his mask is very similar to Yuri’s, only instead of a tiger, his mask resembles a fluffy white persian cat. The Count is wearing a green yukata, and his mask is surely the most hilarious of the group. Instead of an animal, he’s got a cartoonish caricature of Viktor Nikiforov’s face, complete with a painted-on wink.

Yuuri makes his way over to the rest of his team.

“ _Finally,_ we can start,” Yuri says.

“You say that like you’ve been here for more than two minutes, yourself,” the Count says. He raises a hand to preemptively dismiss Yuri’s retort. “Anyway, now that we’re all here, where should we go?”

“I say we split up,” Mr. Bandages says.

“What?” Yuri demands. “We just—Oh. Right.” He nods. “Yeah, we can cover more ground this way, so… It’s whatever.”

“Um… I guess that makes sense…” Yuuri says hesitantly. He glances at the Count, but his expression is, of course, unreadable hidden beneath the mask.

“Cool. I;m going to go beat the shooting games,” Yuri says. “Hurry up before all the good games have lines,” he says, shoving Mr. Bandages forward.

“See you later,” Mr. Bandages says cheerfully, waving as he gets dragged off to the games.

With Mr. Bandages and Yuri gone, there’s no buffer for the awkwardness between Yuuri and the Count. They stare at each other for a moment, but it seems like there’s more distance between them than ever. The masks aren’t helping.

Eventually, Yuuri speaks.

“Uh… I’m going to go find something to eat…” he says.

“I’ll come with you,” the Count says, taking a step closer. “If you don’t mind?”

“I, uh…” Yuuri blushes, but at least it’s not visible under his mask. “That’s fine, yeah. You probably didn’t have breakfast, either… I can’t just stop you from eating...”

“Eros, I’m not just talking about food,” the Count sas with a sigh. “I mean that I want to spend the day with you.”

“O-Oh,” Yuuri stammers. “I— Of course, uh… I’d like that.”

The Count not being mad at him anymore is like a dream come true.

“Great!” the Count says, sounding immediately more cheerful.

They browse the food stalls for awhile. For Yuuri, it’s strange to see a mixture of Japanese festival foods and American fair foods served right alongside each other. On the other hand, where else is Yuuri ever going to be able to find yakisoba and chocolate-covered bacon donut holes within two feet of each other? Of course he’s going to take advantage of the situation!

The Count gets a chocolate-covered banana, which he eats _very_ distractingly, though Yuuri can’t tell if he’s doing it specifically to torture Yuuri, or if he just genuinely eats bananas like that. He follows the banana up with a corndog, and then he follows the corndog with a giant mass of cotton candy on a stick, and _neither of those are any less distracting._

“Mmm, so good,” the Count says with a slight moan. “It’s such a shame there’s too much to have in one day. I guess I’ll have to go to more festivals to try everything.”

Yuuri licks some sugar off of his fingers and pointedly avoids looking at the Count.

When they’re finished, they head out to play some games. Yuuri’s competitive streak rears its head, which might be for the best, because the Count is _terrible_ at these games.

“I know!” the Count exclaims when Yuuri says as much to him. “I suppose it’s because I never got to do things like this as a child. And as I got older… Well, I’ll just say that things were different, but not any better.”

“Wait, wait,” Yuuri says, his jaw dropping. “Are you telling me you’ve never been to a festival before? Or a fair, amusement park, whatever?”

“Of course I’ve _been,_ ” the Count says. “I guess I just haven’t… _enjoyed_ it before.”

“But… you _are_ having a good time now, aren’t you?” Yuuri asks worriedly. 

“I am,” the Count says. “Everything is more enjoyable when I’m with you.”

“Count…” Yuuri murmurs. His mind swarms with fantasies of all the festivals he could take the Count to if they went back to Japan together. He almost says something, but he bites his tongue. Yuuri can’t say those kinds of things, or he’ll only hurt the Count more than he already has.

By the time Yuuri pulls himself together, the Count has already turned his attention to the game they’ve come to. He fails horribly, but then he turns to Yuuri.

“Your turn,” he says cheerfully.

Yuuri steps up to the goldfish-scooping stall. He goes as quickly as he can without totally ruining the poi he’s scooping them up with, and he’s just got his tenth fish when the stall’s owner rings a little bell.

“Wow! Impressive!” the Count cheers.

Ten fish is enough for Yuuri to exchange for a token, but there are also prizes lining the wall of the shop. There are keychains with tiny stuffed pumpkins, several small dolls, and full-size plushes—bats, black cats, jack-o-lanterns than light up, and witches with glittery hats.

“How many do I have to get to win one of those?” Yuuri asks, gesturing to the stuffed animals.

“Uh… 11 for a small prize, 12 for a medium, 13 for a large,” the woman running the game says. “Your poi isn’t broken, so I guess you can continue with it.”

Yuuri nods determinedly and scoops up another five fish before his poi breaks.

“I’ll take that one,” Yuuri says, pointing at a stuffed bat with a cute face. As soon as the woman hands it to him, he passes it over to the Count.

“It’s adorable…” the Count says, tracing its fluffy ears.

“It’s for you,” Yuuri tells him. “The Count in _Midnight Whirlpool_ can turn into a bat, so I thought it would be fitting.”

“Thank you…” the Count says, his voice raw. “I don’t know what to say…”

“Do you... like it?” Yuuri asks worriedly. “Because if you don’t, or if you think it’s weird, you don’t have to take it; I just thought—”

“Eros,” the Count interrupts. “Eros, I love it.”

He hugs the bat to his chest, and Yuuri feels something flutter in his own.

They play more games for the rest of the day, interspersed with the occasional snack break when they get hungry. The festival is so huge that night has already fallen by the time they make it to some of the games. 

They’re about to pass the High Roller when Yuuri abruptly stops.

“I know what you can win!” he says excitedly. “The High Roller doesn’t have you using awkward tools or throwing anything. All you need is your own strength.”

“Well, it’s no Dance Dance Revolution—which I’ll have you know I’m great at—but it’s worth a shot,” the Count says.

“Dance Dance Revolution, huh…” Yuuri says, chuckling. “Wouldn’t that be hard to set up outside like this?”

“Viktor doesn’t let difficulty stop him,” the Count says. “Ah, if only he’d thought about it!”

When the Count approaches the stand, the attendant gives him a large mallet.

“Eros,” the Count says, tilting his head. “Will you hold my bat for me?”

The plush toy hasn’t left the Count’s arms all day. For a moment, Yuuri just stares. The Count stares back.

“You’re giving me puppy eyes, aren’t you,” Yuuri says in amusement.

“Is it working?” the Count asks hopefully.

“Your face is completely covered! Of course not!” Yuuri says with a laugh. “But it doesn’t need to. I wasn’t going to say no.”

He takes the bat from the Count’s hand, giving its head a little pat. He takes a couple steps back as the Count swings the mallet. Over the course of a few seconds, the puck rises to the top and rings the bell.

“Such power!” the man running the game exclaims. “Sir, you’ve won! You get a token, but you can also pick from any of these prizes as well,” he says, gesturing to the toys lining his stall. “Which will it be?”

“The poodle,” the Count decides without hesitation. “Definitely the poodle.”

He offers the plush to Yuuri.

“I want you to have it,” he says 

“Thank you… He’s precious,” Yuuri says, taking the toy into his arms. At the same time, he gives the Count his bat back. For a moment, they stand their petting their plushes. Just as they start walking towards the next game, though, Viktor’s announcement tone plays, and the festival falls to a hush.

“I hope that everyone has enjoyed this event as much as I enjoyed planning it,” Viktor’s voice crackles. There must be some kind of issue with the speakers. “Still, the festival isn’t over yet~ Find a good spot with a view of the sky, because it’s almost time for fireworks!”

When Viktor’s announcement ends, everyone goes back to what they were doing with renewed vigor.

“Should we, uh, try to find the others?” Yuuri asks. “And watch the fireworks together as a team… or something?”

“We probably wouldn’t be able to find them in this crowd, anyway,” the Count says, tugging Yuuri in the direction of the mansion. “But I know a place that the two of us can go.”

“Alright,” Yuuri agrees. He feels slightly guilty for being relieved, but he can’t help being happy to keep the Count to himself for just a little longer.

When they get back to the mansion, the Count heads to one of the side doors, letting out a delighted sound when it opens.

“Uh… We’re going inside? To see the fireworks?” Yuuri asks in confusion.

“We are!” the Count replies excitedly. He leads Yuuri through the halls and up the stairs with no difficulty, and the two of them emerge on the balcony just in time for the fireworks to start.

In the distance, he can see the festival setup, still lit up despite the fact that most people have abandoned the stalls entirely. A crowd has formed further out as people evidently gathered in the same place, and Yuuri doesn’t envy them. The view is much better here on the balcony. The company, too.

Yuuri only realizes how close he is to the Count when the Count wraps his arm around Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri leans into the touch, resting his head on the Count’s shoulder.

Despite the Count’s warm arms and the beautiful sight of the fireworks, Yuuri’s stomach churns uneasily. Being with the Count brings him so much happiness that Yuuri can’t help but think that ending their relationship is the wrong thing to do.. But going back on his choice now would also be the wrong decision, wouldn’t it? There is no good choice here! What’s he supposed to do?

The Count sighs, and Yuuri can feel his shoulders relax. Gently, he tilts his head so that it rests against Yuuri’s.

This, Yuuri thinks, is the only thing that feels right.


	14. Chapter 14

When Yuuri wakes up in the morning, he almost considers going straight back to sleep. If he goes to sleep, he won’t have to pack his bags, acknowledge any of his feelings, or face the fact that everything really is ending.

On the other hand, the thought of oversleeping and not having any time to prepare fills him with dread. It’s the sheer horror of the thought of being left behind after everyone else has left that motivates him to get moving.

Packing up his suitcase is harder than it was the first time. Yuuri had had everything packed just right so that it all fit, but now, Yuuri has even more items to bring back with him. He manages to fit Phichit’s gift into the side of his suitcase without putting it in a position to be crushed, but Yuuri also has a couple of plush toys that just refuse to squeeze in. He supposes that the dog plush that the Count had given him can poke its head out of one of the bags, but what is he supposed to do with the Count doll? Yuuri isn’t even entirely sure that he’s supposed to have this one! But Viktor’s staff hadn’t taken it from him after the creepy doll task, and he didn’t have a chance to give it to the Count in the aftermath… Yuuri doesn’t want to just abandon it, but getting the awkwardly human-shaped doll into a suitcase on the verge of bursting is harder than it looks.

A knock at his door pulls him out of his contemplation. Yuuri opens the door to see a staff member holding his phone.

“The tasks are over, so you can have this back,” the man says. “And while I’m at it, I need you to hand over the tokens you earned from yesterday’s games so I can take them to be counted.”

For a horrible second, Yuuri fears that he’s accidentally packed up the tokens with his luggage. Fortunately, he remembers that he left them in the drawer of the nightstand specifically so they wouldn’t get scooped up among his other things. Yuuri grabs them, does a quick count to make sure they’re all there, and then exchanges them with the phone in the servant’s hands.

“Thank you,” the man says. “We should have the final scores tallied shortly. The winners will be announced at the ball this evening.”

Yuuri shuts the door as the man walks away. With a sigh, he glances at his phone. There are three missed calls, as well as a few text messages that can probably wait. Without bothering to look at anything else, he taps Phichit’s name and hits “call.”

“Whoa, Yuuri!” Phichit’s voice comes excitedly through the phone. “I didn’t expect you to call me until tomorrow, but—”

“Phichit…” Yuuri says, his throat tightening at the sound of his friend’s voice. “Phichit, I’m so stupid…”

“What’s wrong?” Phichit asks, his tone immediately switching to concern. “Is someone being an asshole to you? Because I swear I will figure out who it is and drag them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, _and_ Tumblr.”

“No, it’s not that,” Yuuri says, forcing out a weak chuckle. “Everyone has been wonderful to me… I just… ” His breath hitches. “I’m always screwing up, like usual. But this time… This time I’ve screwed up someone else, too…”

“Oh, Yuuri…” Phichit murmurs. “What did you do?”

“I… I… actually fell in love with someone,” Yuuri admits. He can hear Phichit intake breath, but he continues before Phichit can say anything. “But… it doesn’t matter. He can’t… He can’t give up his lifestyle for me, and I won’t give up skating for him. We just won’t work.”

“Did he _say_ that to you?” Phichit asks in horror.

“No,” Yuuri responds miserably. “I said it to him, and he was so upset. He kept trying to get me to change my mind, I think, but I… can’t…”

“Yuuri… Why…?” Phichit asks in confusion. “If you’re in love with him…”

“Because I’m too afraid!” Yuuri chokes out. “You know I’m always a coward!”

“But he must care about you, too, if he wanted to change your mind,” Phichit points out. “What’s there to be afraid of?”

“I don’t know, just getting my heart ripped out!” Yuuri snaps. Immediately, he winces. “Sorry, I just… I didn’t want him to break my heart, but… Phichit, I managed to break his instead!”

“Yuuri, I—”

“But I was always going to disappoint him!” Yuuri continues, interrupting Phichit. “I knew from the beginning this was going to go badly. But… I guess… he didn’t? But it’s even worse than I imagined…”

“Yuuri, I think if he really likes you—”

“He likes me as Eros,” Yuuri argues. “I’m here and I’m on a vacation of sorts and the only reason I haven’t failed at anything is because we’re just playing a bunch of games! What happens when he sees how I am most of the time? He’s a successful actor, and I’ll be lucky if I can even get back to Worlds again!”

“Yuuri, first of all, you’re the most famous figure skater in Japan. You’re hardly a mismatch for an actor, even if he ends up being super famous,” Phichit says. “Second, if you two are in love, it doesn’t matter what your jobs are! Love conquers all!”

“That’s what Viktor said…” Yuuri mumbles.

“Well, what can I say? Great minds think alike,” Phichit says innocently.

Too innocently…

“You googled ‘Viktor Nikiforov love quotes,’ didn’t you…” Yuuri accuses.

“How dare you,” Phichit gasps with mock offense. “I’ll have you know I searched for ‘ _encouraging_ Viktor Nikiforov love quotes.’” he says, laughing. “You aren’t going to argue with Viktor, are you, Yuuri?”

“You tricked me into that one,” Yuuri says with a chuckle. “But no, I guess I won’t argue…”

Especially because Yuuri has had the rare opportunity to have Viktor encourage him in person. And Viktor _had_ said exactly those words. Viktor had told him it wasn’t too late…

“Okay. Okay, you’re right…” Yuuri says. “I don’t want to walk away from him, Phichit. I’m going to tell him that. Tonight, at the ball. And if it doesn’t go well… then I guess we’ll leave as strangers after all.”

“If it goes badly, I’ll be waiting for you at our apartment with pizza and some bad horror movies,” Phichit says. “And if it goes well, you can invite your boyfriend over for some pizza and bad horror movies.”

Yuuri laughs, his heart filling with affection for his best friend.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says, smiling as ends the call.

His heart feels a little less heavy when he goes back to packing. He ends up placing the Count doll in the same compartment as the dog plush. Both of their heads stick out, as though they’re excitedly anticipating an adventure.

That evening, when it’s time for the ball, Yuuri dresses up in his Eros costume for the last time. A servant leads him to the ballroom, and Yuuri enters to find most of the guests already milling around.

Yuuri spots Mr. Bandages chatting with a man from another team. The man’s hand is positioned provocatively close to Mr. Bandages’s hips, not that Mr. Bandages seems to mind. Yuuri glances away with a blush. He definitely doesn’t want to interrupt them.

Yuri is easy to pick out, both because his wolf costume stands out and because he’s sticking to the outer edges of the room, away from the crowded center area. Every now and then, he wanders over to a table to grab a bite to eat, but he always retreats before anyone can engage him in conversation. Yuuri would join him in other circumstances, but as it is… Well, it’s very important that he find the Count.

The problem is, the Count isn’t anywhere to be found. Yuuri checks three times.

Yuuri ends up bumping into Yuri next to a table full of chocolates.

“Hey, watch where— Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Yuri groans. “Eros, wear your damn glasses next time if you can’t see.”

“Have you seen the Count?” Yuuri asks distractedly, barely paying attention to Yuri’s words. “It’s important that I talk to him, so please…”

“He’s…” Yuri starts. “Oh, fuck. Listen, he’s—”

Yuri is cut off as the lights dim. A spotlight shines on a stage in the middle of the room, and there stands Viktor Nikiforov.

“Good evening to all of my guests,” Viktor says, spreading his arms as if in welcome. “I would like to once again thank all of you for attending this event of mine. It wouldn’t have been the same without every single one of you.”

He shoots a glance at either Yuuri or Yuri. Or perhaps he means it for both of them. Yuri knows Viktor personally, but Yuuri has cried on Viktor’s shoulder… He cringes a little at the memory. Oh, this event must have been _really_ different for Viktor, all right.

“I’d also like to thank my staff for being so understanding and working so hard to keep the games running smoothly,” Viktor continues. “Now, as some of you have figured out, this is the last Annual Nikiforov Spooktacular that I’ll be host—”

A murmur rises throughout the crowd. Even Yuri huffs.

“It has truly been an honor for me,” Viktor says as though he hasn’t been interrupted. “And if anyone else wishes to pick up the tradition, by all means, invite me~ Just don’t ask me to host~”

Viktor smiles broadly as the crowd laughs.

“Yes, it’s a shame, but I’ve gotten too old for this,” Viktor continues cheerfully. “But that’s enough of that. Please, everyone, enjoy this final night. I will announce the winner of this year’s games in a few hours. Happy Halloween, everyone!”

The lights go back to normal, and Yuuri watches as Viktor engages in conversation with a couple of women standing next to him.

“I really have to find the Count,” Yuuri tells Yuri. “So if you see him, please tell him that I’m looking for him.”

“Oh, I have some words for him myself,” Yuri mutters. “I’ll throw in your request, or whatever.”

“Thanks,” Yuuri says, flashing Yuri a quick smile before he leaves to continue his ballroom search. There are a few times he thinks he spots the Count out of the corner of his eye, but frustratingly, every time he turns to look, it’s just a random person… or it’s Viktor, whose silver hair is just a point of frustration for Yuuri at this point. At any rate, Yuuri only manages to catch a good glimpse of Viktor once, because a crowd follow him everywhere he goes. Viktor catches Yuuri’s eye and raises a hand like he’s going to wave, but then someone shoves their way forward and blocks Viktor from Yuuri’s view.

Maybe it’s for the best. Yuuri can’t get distracted if he wants to find the Count. He does, however, feel a little sorry for Viktor. He hardly has room to even breathe over there.

When Yuuri still hasn’t found the Count an hour later, though, his heart begins to sink. Yuuri knows this is all is fault… But he doesn’t want everything to end like _this!_

Suddenly, Yuuri catches sight of a black cape fluttering in his periphery. Whirling around, he calls out “Count” before he can stop himself.”

The Count freezes. Then, without so much as glancing at Yuuri, he _sprints_ out of the ballroom and into the hallway.

Yuuri’s heart shatters one more time. Maybe the Count has realized he’s better off staying away from Yuuri. Yuuri was aware that the Count wasn’t obligated to take him back… But he thought he’d at least have the chance to ask! 

He manages to stumble his way out of the crowded room into a secluded balcony before the tears come. The Count is long gone from the area, and Yuuri’s not sure if that’s a good thing. He hates for anyone to see him like this, but maybe, maybe if the Count could see physical proof that Yuuri does care, that he didn’t mean to be so cold before, then he’d realize that Yuuri really, truly wants to make up for what he’s done.

“Hey, wha— Eros?” Yuri’s voice comes from behind him. Yuuri hears him step onto the balcony, but Yuuri doesn’t bother looking up. With his eyes closed and the cool breeze hitting his face, he doesn’t feel so bad. If he opens his watery, probably reddened eyes to Yuri Plisetsky, it’s going to feel like the Grand Prix Final all over again. And that’s more than Yuuri can bear right now.

“Why the hell do you look like shit?” Yuri asks. After a pause, he continues. “Wait, I meant— Aren’t you supposed to be looking for the Count or something? You can’t do that if you’re a fucking m… mess.”

“I found him…” Yuuri says quietly.

“What do you mean you found him?” Yuri asks. “You couldn’t have… Wait, shit.” 

Yuuri hears Yuri yank open the door and then slam it shut. A second later, the door opens back up.

“Don’t go anywhere!” Yuri shouts before immediately slamming the door again.

It’s not as though Yuuri has any desire to return to the ballroom. He lets his eyes flutter open. It’s hard to see in the dark, though, and combined with the tears in his eyes and his lack of glasses, there’s really not a lot for Yuuri to look at. Even though Yuri told him to stay out here, after a while, Yuuri finds himself what the point is. He’s got himself under enough control for him to make it back to his room without creating a scene. Besides, it’s been at least 20 minutes since Yuri had left. Surely Yuri didn’t intend for him to stay outside forever.

Yuuri’s just about to head inside when the door opens and a blur of a man comes flying out. Yuuri has to take a step backwards for balance as the Count practically throws himself at Yuuri.

“I’m— I’m so— I’m so sorry—” the Count gets out through heavy breaths. His face is flushed with exertion and his clothing looks like it was haphazardly thrown on, a look that contrasts sharply with his usual composed appearance. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get away sooner!”

Yuuri has to push the Count back in order to get enough space to breathe.

“What do you mean? You were trying to get away from _me,_ ” Yuuri says, frowning at the still-fresh memory.

“It’s not what you think! I can explain!” the Count insists. He sounds like he’s in a scene straight out of a drama, like he’s some kind of guilty lover who’s been caught having an affair. If the situation weren’t so serious, Yuuri might be tempted to laugh. “That wasn’t— Okay, you know what, I’ll explain later, but first, there’s something important I need to tell say. I—”

“Wait!” Yuuri interrupts. “Wait, please, before you say anything… I need to tell you something, too.”

The Count’s eyes (they’re blue again this time, Yuuri notices) widen. For a moment, his mouth hangs open, but then, slowly, he nods. The thin line his mouth makes as he closes it is foreboding, but Yuuri’s been preparing himself to say this all day. With a deep breath, he opens his mouth and speaks his mind.

“I was wrong before. I shouldn’t have asked you to end our relationship. I don’t want to end it,” he says. “I never wanted to end it. But all this time, I thought you would get bored as soon as you knew who I was. Because I’m not a rich, successful actor, or… even good at what I do. I’m just a dime-a-dozen figure skater. And… And I know you _like_ skating, but that just makes it worse, because you’ll understand exactly _how_ I’m failing.” Yuuri looks down, not wanting to see the Count’s reaction to the next part. “But I really am in love with you. I thought nothing could be worse than waiting for you to break my heart, but…” Yuuri squeezes his eyes shut. “If you’re going to reject me, then just do it! But... but I want to hear it from you yourself. And if you want to be with me… then please don’t leave.”

“Oh…” the Count murmurs softly. “Oh, you really said it.”

Gently, he takes Yuuri’s hands into his own.

“I was going to confess to you properly,” the Count continues. “I was going to tell you how you’re the only person who’s ever made me want to drop my mask. How you make me remember what love is supposed to feel like. How you make me feel alive. But now, I guess what I should say is… I want nothing more than to stay with you. Please, stay close to me, too. I’m the one who’s afraid of losing _you,_ ” He squeezes Yuuri’s hands. “Especially once you find out the truth about who I am.”

“Do you… have a shameful career, too?” Yuuri asks in confusion. “Or is it… shady? Not that it matters to me! I won’t judge you!”

“Not exactly,” the Count says. “It’s just—”

The Count is interrupted by the sounds of the door opening.

“There you are,” Viktor’s head butler says in relief.

“You could not possibly have worse timing,” the Count says irritatedly.

“I apologize, Mr. Nikiforov, but it’s time for your speech,” the butler says.

Yuuri’s mind short-circuits.

“Did he… just call you... ?” Yuuri says uncomprehendingly.

“This isn’t how I wanted you to find out…” the Count mutters. “I was just about to tell you myself…”

“You’re related to Viktor?” Yuuri asks.

For a moment, the Count stares at Yuuri in dumbfounded shock. 

“No, I _am_ Viktor,” the Count—Viktor? (True, he sounds like Viktor now that he’s dropped the fake Russian accent…)—says. Immediately, he continues. “Yuuri, please, before you say anything, let me explain. I was planning this for a long time, and—”

“Mr. Nikiforov, your guests are waiting,” the butler interrupts.

“Yes, I know, but I need to—” 

“You’ve kept them waiting long enough, Sir,” the butler insists.

“You’re… right…” Viktor admits, sighing. 

Slowly, Viktor, raises a hand to caress Yuuri’s cheek.

“Please, Yuuri… I promise we’ll talk about this later…” he says in a voice full of desperation.

Yuuri, who still can’t believe what he’s hearing, can only manage a dazed “Okay.”

Viktor looks at him longingly before walking back inside the mansion.

Yuuri takes a moment to try to compose himself into the image of a person who hadn’t just cried, confessed his love, and been shocked with an unbelievable identity reveal all within the course of an hour. After a few minutes, he heads back inside the ballroom.

“Hey, so he finally told you, right?” Yuri asks, grabbing Yuuri’s arm as he passes. For some reason, he’s no longer wearing his wolf costume, but he _is_ wearing a bandage around his arm.

“Uh… That he loves me, or that he’s, uh... Oh… I guess you knew who he was the whole time…” Yuuri realizes.

“Only after I read his skill list,” Yuri says. “It was really obvious that it was him. And once I knew it was him, it was really obvious that you were… you.”

“Wait…” Yuuri says. “Wait, you knew it was me? And you didn’t say anything?”

“You didn’t say anything to me either, you asshole! I literally only found out you knew _just now_ when you didn’t act surprised to see me,” Yuri says, crossing his arms. “But I guess I’m glad you knew, because now I can hold you to all the favors you owe me!”

“Favors?” Yuuri asks.

“Yeah, you owe me _big_ time. I had to fake an injury just to get Viktor out of here,” Yuri says, gesturing to the bandage on his arm. “And that’s not even counting how I had to go tell him you were looking for him in the first place. Or the other day when Chris and I had to ditch you so you and Viktor would make up. Or—”

“Chris? Is that Mr. Bandages?” Yuuri interrupts.

“Yeah, Christophe Giacometti, you know, Viktor’s weird friend?” Yuri says. “He totally knew who you were the whole time, too. Actually, we all knew who everybody in out group was. Ha, I guess you were the only one in the dark.”

Funnily enough, the lights dim just as Yuri finishes speaking. The spotlight comes on a second later, illuminating Viktor in the center of the room. The crowd falls silent in anticipation.

“It’s finally time for what you’ve all been waiting for~” Viktor says cheerfully. “I know you’ve all worked hard, and soon you’ll know if it paid off~ But first~ Let’s reveal the prizes~”

The prizes are a jewelry set, a fancy car, and a trip for four to the Maldives. But Yuuri barely pays attention to the description. Instead, he focuses on comparing the Count to Viktor. Now that Yuuri knows they’re the same person, it seems obvious. And it wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed the similarities, but… All those details just made the Count seem like an accurate rendition of the movie character! Who would ever suspect Viktor of hiding himself… _as_ himself… and at his own party, too? 

“... And lastly, there’s a magnificent portrait of Makkachin painted by yours truly~” Viktor finishes. The crowd’s groans snap Yuuri out of his thoughts.

“I’m kidding! I didn’t paint it! Wouldn’t it be unfair if I was good at everything?” Viktor says, laughing loudly. “It was painted by an up-and-coming artist! Be sure to support her work in the future!”

The crowd continues to mutter. Yuuri has a feeling that their issue was with the painting itself, not the artist.

“Now remember, all four of these amazing prizes go to the winning team to divide however they wish,” Viktor says. “And I’d better not see anyone harassing them about the prizes, either. Trust me, I _will_ catch you, so just don’t do it, okay!”

Viktor claps his hands together.

“Okay, so the winners are… Mr. Wolf, Mr. Bandages, the Count, and Eros!” Viktor announces. “Congratulations~ Give it up for them, everybody~”

The crowd applauds, but Yuuri can only stand there in shock. His eyes meet Viktor’s (oh, how did he manage to not recognize that vibrant blue before?) and Viktor’s smile softens for a brief moment.

“Please come up to collect your trophy. Oh, did I forget to mention the trophy?” Viktor laughs. “Come on! Come on!”

“Holy crap, we actually won,” Yuri murmurs. He shoves Yuuri forward, forcing him to walk up to the stage. Mr. Bandages—that is, Chris—and someone dressed like the Count walk up from the other side.

“Hey, Viktor, I want the car,” Yuri demands before he can even grab the trophy. When he reaches for it, though, Viktor yanks it away.

“I don’t know…” Viktor says mockingly, stepping away from the microphone. “Aren’t you a little young?”

“I’ll keep it in America and drive it here,” Yuri argues.

“Oh? If you’re going to hang around in America, are you planning on visiting me more often?” Viktor asks with a grin. “You should bring Yakov! We can all go on a road trip together!”

“I’m not letting you anywhere near my car!” Yuri protests.

“Well, nobody said it’s yours, yet,” Viktor says dismissively. “That’s for you to work out with your team. I’m not involved at all.”

Chris slings his arms around Yuuri and Yuri’s shoulders. “The Count” smiles and watches silently from the side.

“We did it, boys!” Chris says happily. Yuuri smiles as the crowd lets out another cheer for them, and even Yuri’s smirk is soft around the edges.

“And that concludes the final night of the Nikiforov games!” Viktor says, stepping back to the microphone. “There’s still plenty of food, drinks, and music, so don’t hurry off just yet~ Enjoy this final night~”

As the spotlight disappears and the main lights come back on, they all leave the stage. Viktor offers Chris, Yuri, and “The Count” a handshake. When he gets to Yuuri, he takes Yuuri’s hand with both of his.

“Meet me later at—” he starts, but before he can finish his sentence, the crowd surges forward, pushing Yuuri away.

“What’s the point in having fans if they’re going to act like that?” Yuri complains.

“They’re not his fans,” Yuuri mutters. “They’re idiots who think he owes them.”

“Mm, yeah,” Yuri agrees. “He told them they couldn’t harass us, so they’re harassing him instead, I guess.” He shrugs. “Speaking of which, we have to divide up the prizes. I said it before, but I’ll repeat it. The car. Is. Mine. I don’t care what the rest of you take, but I want the car. It’s a Jaguar! It was made for me!”

“And I think we all know that the Count wants the Makkachin picture,” Chris says with a chuckle. “The Count” nods, completely silent.

“That leaves the… jewelry and the trip?” Yuuri asks, suddenly wishing he’d paid more attention earlier.

“Yes,” Chris agrees. “Now, Eros, as beautiful as that jewelry would look on you, I have to say that I have a… vision, of sorts, so…”

“Oh, uh, right. I mean, you can have it,” Yuuri agrees. “So that leaves me with… the trip…”

But just what is Yuuri supposed to do with a trip for four to the Maldives, of all places? Who would he even take? Phichit? Or… Viktor? But that’s a little laughable, taking Viktor on a trip he paid for.

“The tickets are transferable if you want to give them to someone else as a gift,” Chris says, apparently reading the dilemma on Yuuri’s face. 

“Hmm…” Yuuri considers it. The tickets have no expiration, so he could just hold on to them for a while and consider it later. Or…

“We could all take a ticket,” Yuuri suggests. “And then, someday in the future, if we can get our schedules to line up… We could get together again.”

Yuuri blushes as both Yuri and Chris stare at him. He’s just about to retract his statement when Chris holds up a hand.

“That’s a good idea, actually,” he says. “I, for one, need a vacation every now and then. And I think we all know a certain silver-haired someone who could really use some time off.”

“I guess I’d better be there to make sure you don’t screw around and waste the trip,” Yuri says, rolling his eyes as though he’s truly exasperated.

Yuuri chuckles at his teammates… his friends. Over the past two weeks, Yuuri may have fallen in love with… Viktor (oh, god, he’s in love with _Viktor Nikiforov._ He decides to save that particular freak-out for later), but he can’t say he hasn’t grown fond of Yuri and Chris as well. It’s a little strange, because normally, Yuuri isn’t one for making long-distance friends. Phichit is the only foreign skater Yuuri considers a friend, and they live together most of the year… But now, Yuuri finds himself looking forward to seeing Yuri and Chris again.

It’s amazing how much everything can change in just two weeks.


	15. Chapter 15

When Yuuri wakes up the next morning, he can’t help but feel disappointed. Viktor hadn’t managed to get away at all last night. Yuuri had gone to his room, intending to stay up, but at some point in the early morning hours, he must have fallen asleep. Viktor either hadn’t come, or hadn’t been able to wake Yuuri up.

As Yuuri sits waiting for one of Viktor’s servants to bring him to the airport, he contemplates going to find Viktor. Yuuri still feels almost numb with shock that Viktor, the man he’s always admired, and the Count, the man Yuuri fell in love with, are one and the same… It doesn’t change Yuuri’s feelings a bit, although… he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel even more pathetic when measured next to Viktor.

But after everything they had said to each other last night, Yuuri knows better than to just… bolt away in fear (even though his fight-or-flight response is telling him to run away, and fast). They said they would stay close to each other…

But what does that mean, exactly?

Yuuri’s left to ponder the state of their relationship well past lunchtime. He’s starting to get nervous that the staff have forgotten about him, but finally, in the late afternoon, someone knocks on his door.

Yuuri opens the door, takes one look at Viktor in the flesh, yelps, and slams the door shut.

As soon as he comes to his senses, he opens the door again.

“Hi, Yuuri,” Viktor says cheerfully, as though he didn’t just have a door in his face. “I’m so glad you’re still here! I wanted to be here hours ago, but seeing off the other guests took longer than I expected.”

“Oh, uh, right…” Yuuri says. “Well, it’s not like I could go anywhere on my own… I guess your staff has been busy with the others? I was wondering if my name got skipped or something.”

“Oh, ah…” Viktor chuckles. “That’s because it was. See, I didn’t want you to leave before we could talk. Last time that happened, you didn’t speak to me for ten months, and since I’m not having any more of these events, it’s not like you can surprise me at my next one.”

“W-What?” Yuuri stammers in surprise. “What do you mean, last time?”

“In Sochi, of course,” Viktor says. “I know I told you to call me, and—”

“No, no, no, no,” Yuuri says quickly. “We couldn’t have met in Sochi. Because I only went to Sochi one time, and you wouldn’t have been… there...”

Except Viktor sponsors Yuri, who very much was there. And if Yuri was there, it wouldn’t have been odd for Viktor to show up. But… But Yuuri would have _remembered_ seeing Viktor Nikiforov in person, unless he’d been drunk or something…

Oh. Oh no.

“At the banquet?” Yuuri asks weakly. Viktor’s nod fills him with horror.

“What did I do?” Yuuri exclaims. “I must have had… _so_ much champagne! Viktor! I can’t remember a thing!”

Viktor chokes on his breath.

“You don’t remember?” he asks incredulously. “You danced with me. You told me my skating inspired you, and then you said…” Viktor’s lips quirk up. “That if you won your next dance off, I should start cheering for you. Then you stripped down to your underwear!”

“I did _what?_ ” Yuuri exclaims, covering his face in shame.

“You won,” Viktor says. “I would have cheered for you this season if you’d competed, you know…” Suddenly, he pauses. “But you didn’t know. You really don’t remember any of this?”

“No…” Yuuri groans. “I’m sorry… I normally don’t drink at official events like that, but I was so miserable that day that I guess I changed my mind…”

“I see…” Viktor murmurs. He pauses. “That’s okay. You put a spark back in my life that night, Yuuri. You not remembering doesn’t change what you did for me. And besides,” Viktor smiles, reaching for Yuuri’s hand. “Now we have new memories together. No need to cling to a time when you were miserable.”

“Viktor…” Yuuri murmurs. “It wasn’t like that. I remember being miserable before I went to the banquet, but… I’m sure I was happy when I was with you,” he says, entwining their fingers together.

A knock at the half-open door interrupts the conversation.

“Forgive me, Mr. Nikiforov, but we need to leave now if we’re going to make it to the airport in time for Mr. Katsuki’s flight,” the head butler says.

“Right…” Viktor agrees. He stands up, but he doesn’t let go of Yuuri’s hand.

He doesn’t let go of Yuuri’s had during the walk to the car, either.

Viktor gestures for Yuuri to get in the backseat. He briefly glances at his butler before he climbs in next to Yuuri.

For a few minutes, they ride in an expectant but not uncomfortable silence. Finally, Yuuri blurts out the question that’s been on his mind since the previous night.

“What are we supposed to do now?” he asks worriedly. “I… I have to get back to training… immediately, really… if I’m not going to retire. And you have… projects, or something, right?

“Yuuri…” Viktor murmurs sadly. “You make it sound like we’ll never see each other. I said I’d stay with you. We’ll figure something out...” Suddenly, he jolts upright. “I’ve figured it out!”

“What are you talking about?” Yuuri asks in a mixture of confusion and amusement.

“It’s a surprise,” Viktor says mysteriously. If he were anyone else, Yuuri would be terrified, but if anyone can pull off a good surprise, it’s Viktor. Yuuri feels more excitement than fear.

As the airport comes into view, Yuuri decides to ask one last question.

“Did you put us all on the same team on purpose? Me, your friend, and the skater you sponsor? And…” He hesitates. “And did being on your team, uh… advantage us…?”

“Of course I chose you all specifically. I wanted to spend my last event with the people I like the most,” Viktor says, grinning his heart-shaped smile. “But don’t worry about bias. I actually didn’t have much to do with the tasks themselves. I planned out the general themes of the tasks, but I left my staff to work out the details. Didn’t they do a great job? I’ve got to give them raises this year!”

“Mr. Nikiforov, Mr. Katsuki, we’ve arrived,” the butler announces.

Viktor accompanies Yuuri inside. He insists on carrying some of Yuuri’s things, despite the fact that Yuuri’s luggage isn’t all that cumbersome. He makes a little delighted noise when he spots the Count doll and the dog plush sticking out, but aside from that, he stays quiet as they head to the bag check-in.

When it’s time to part, Yuuri finds that his legs don’t want to move. Frozen, he looks at Viktor, who doesn’t seem to be doing any better. Their gazes connect, and for a moment, the rest of the world fades into the background..

“Yuuri,” Viktor speaks after a pause. “Promise me… Promise me that no matter what happens, this isn’t the end for us.”

“This isn’t the end for us,” Yuuri says firmly.

He surges forward, closing his eyes as he presses his mouth against Viktor’s. It’s meant to be brief, but then Viktor responds by deepening it, and, well…

“Perhaps you may want to save this for a more private setting,” Viktor’s butler interrupts. Yuuri opens his eyes to the sight of several cameras flashing. 

Oops.

“Your fanbase is going to hate me…” Yuuri mutters. Nevertheless, a slight thrill runs through him. Let him be hated. Viktor wants _him._

“I’ll handle them,” Viktor promises. “Now, you should go before they swarm you, but…” He presses another quick kiss to Yuuri’s lips. “I promise I’ll come visit you soon.”

The plane ride is boring in comparison to everything else that’s happened that day, although Yuuri is both amused and horrified when a little boy approaches him to ask if he _really_ kissed _Viktor Nikiforov._ Yuuri barely gets out a nod before the child’s parents drag him away in embarrassment, but Yuuri gathers from the gleam in many of the passengers’ eyes that the boy isn’t the only one dying to ask.

Yuuri tries his best to avoid all eye contact.

When his plane lands back in Detroit, Yuuri manages to walk around the airport without too much trouble. He hears people talking about Viktor kissing a mystery stranger, but apparently Yuuri’s face wasn’t very clear in the pictures, and Yuuri has never been more thankful for his everyman appearance, which lets him escape public scrutiny… for now, at least.

He doesn’t get to escape private scrutiny, though.

“Yuuri!” Phichit greets him near the baggage claim. “Yuuri, you have some explaining to do! You swore up and down that you _weren’t_ going to seduce Viktor Nikiforov, so why is there video evidence—”

“Shh!” Yuuri hushes him, looking around frantically. Nobody seems to be paying attention to them, thankfully. “I’ll tell you everything when we get back, okay?”

Phichit agrees, but he holds Yuuri to his word. The second they walk into their apartment, Phichit grins.

“Hungry? Thirsty? Tired?” Phichit asks cheerfully. When Yuuri shakes his head, Phichit’s eyes take on a mischievous gleam. “Good, because you’re not going anywhere until you’ve told me the whole story! Last I heard, you were upset about rejecting your actor boyfriend. You didn’t tell me your actor boyfriend was Viktor Nikiforov!”

“I didn’t know, either!” Yuuri says defensively. “I only found out yesterday…”

“You’re telling me you didn’t recognize the guy you’ve had a crush on since you were twelve?” Phichit asks.

“I just thought he had the best costume I’d ever seen!” Yuuri explains. “Besides, everybody knew that Viktor was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera! Who would suspect him of being the Count, too?”

Phichit concedes the point, and he halts his questions long enough for Yuuri to tell the whole story.

Yuuri doesn’t make it to bed until well past midnight, and that’s even without unpacking. He figures he can get away with sleeping in a little in the morning, but surprisingly, Phichit wakes him up at 7:00 sharp by… throwing clothes at him?

“Yuuri, get up and answer the door right now!” Phichit insists.

Yuuri, still half-asleep, somehow manages to follow the instructions, but he’s very confused when he opens the front door to see… the ghost of Vicchan?

But no, this dog is too big to be Vicchan. The large poodle leaps at Yuuri, knocking him to the floor and licking his face. It almost looks like…

“Makkachin!” Viktor whines. “I wanted to kiss Yuuri first!”

Yuuri’s eyes widen as he stares up at his boyfriend.

“V-Viktor?” he stammers.

“Hi, Yuuri!” Viktor says happily as he offers out his hand to help Yuuri up. “I told you I’d see you soon!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Also, come yell at me on tumblr if you want, [@dawnonice](http://dawnonice.tumblr.com)


End file.
